It Was Not Me, It Was My Evil Twin
by theearth
Summary: An Apparition lesson goes awry. How to deal with two Snapes? At first, I chose humour as second genre, but it seems that my maudlin side will always win and I changed it.
1. Chapter 1

**IT WAS NOT ME; IT WAS MY EVIL TWIN **

One of my son's tee-shirts, with the above print on it, inspired me to this story. The plot was nearly ready in my head when I went to take a shower and emerged with a different Snape. However, I decided to keep the title, though it is a bit misleading. I hope you'll enjoy. As always, I don't own anything, and I don't make any money.

Thanks to JK Rowling for creating all these characters, especially our beloved Professor Snape. I have to admit, though, that I like him better on Ashwinder than in the books.

The plot is completely AU. Voldemort is defeated before the sixth year at Hogwarts, and Dumbledore is alive.

As always, I apologise for certain clumsy expressions and poor English since it is not my first language, but German is. A great, great thank you, Lady Whitehart, that you agreed to do the beta reading again. Without your help, this story would not have been possible.

**Double-Snape**

Severus Snape was in an extremely bad mood. Not that anybody noticed or paid attention to Snape's mood. Nobody had ever seen him cheerful. Due to an economy measure of the Ministry of Magic, the Apparition instructors had been retired and had not been replaced. Teachers at Hogwarts would now take over the instruction. A few minutes ago, Albus Dumbledore had saddled him with the supervision of the Apparition lessons for the sixth year's students.

_Snape-ish_ had become a dictum for someone who was gruff and unfair. Probably some of his facial muscles didn't work at all, diminished because he did not use them.

Sometimes, he _did_ smile though, but these smiles were dangerous and seemed to announce hell and damnation, or at least detention with Filch. Rumour had it that Snape had actually smiled at Professor McGonagall's and Professor Dumbledore's wedding, but probably that was just chit-chat. Granted, Snape cocked his eyebrows extremely well, but even that had become boring over the years. Although the sixth year students were not at all intimidated by Snape's usual sneering and smirking, they were careful not to irritate him since this would result in the deduction of House points. Everybody knew that he favoured his precious Slytherins even now that Voldemort had been defeated, and that any attempts to gain his attention by knowledge would only end in a disaster. Hermione Granger had tried that for years.

Minerva McGonagall glanced over her glasses and smiled. "I know you are looking forward to your Apparition lessons. I have to warn you though. This is a matter not to be taken lightly. Splinching can happen. This is dangerous and can even lead to the exposure of the Wizarding world. The Ministry will deal with misuse very strictly. Now – the Apparition lessons will be supervised by myself and Professor Snape as will be the tests. You will be divided into groups of six students."

With a flick of her wand names appeared on the blackboard.

_Professor Snape's Group:_

_Lavender Brown_

_Ronald Weasley_

_Harry Potter_

_Hermione Granger_

_Ernie Macmillan_

_Melinda Bobbin _

A little piece of parchment with information about time and location flew to each of the mentioned students. Harry groaned. Apparition lessons with Snape! Not enough that he had to endure him in Defense Against the Dark Arts, Harry's i former /i favourite subject, now Snape was haunting him in other classes, too.

Murmurs rose, and the Transfiguration professor clapped her hands. "Silence! The next group is mine for today."

She flicked her wand once more.

_Parvati Patil_

_Dean Thomas_

_Pansy Parkinson_

_Seamus Finnegan_

_Daphne Greengrass_

_Tracey Davis _

Again, little pieces of parchment flew to the students. Professor McGonagall tapped her wand impatiently on the board. "I do not want to waste further time, so we will continue with our usual lesson. All conversations between you can take place in your spare time. Now…"

"Can't wait to practise. It is so unnerving to see Fred and George Apparating everywhere in the house and mocking me," Ron whispered.

Harry nodded, not really paying attention to Snape's lecture when suddenly he heard something familiar. "Maybe, some of you have abilities so formidable that they feel confident enough to not pay attention."

"Whoa, nearly the same speech he gave me in my first year. He's really getting boring. Do you think he even notices?" Harry whispered in Ron's ear.

"Yes, he does, Mr. Potter, and he is nearly overwhelmed that you were able to memorise something from your first year at Hogwarts. One point to Gryffindor!" Snape smirked. "And twenty points i from /i Gryffindor for your insolence."

He should have known that Snape's remark was a trap. Shit! That was dumb; he had lost another nineteen points. Nevertheless, Harry was tempted to laugh out loud. This day would be marked as the day Snape had awarded a point to Gryffindor.

_Pompuous arse!_ Harry thought. He tried to concentrate on Snape's lecture, but he was too busy imagining how to get back on Snape. He needed something really good so that Snape would have no clue what had hit him.

Harry did not know yet that his next visit at The Burrow would provide him with the means for his revenge. As usual, when Fred and George were not at home, Harry got to sleep in their room. It was really fascinating and always looked as if a bomb had exploded. Well, probably something _had_ exploded since Fred and George still tested their inventions at home, calling it the safest location, not that their mother agreed. When Harry tried to shove his suitcase under George's bed, it stuck. He pushed again; it stuck again. Crouching down, Harry discovered a large purple box under the bed and pulled it out. Curiously, he opened it. It contained little boxes in all kinds of colours, as well as balls, balloons and sticks.

The door flung open, and Ron came in.

"What's that, Harry?" he asked.

"Dunno, I found it under George's bed." Together they inspected the box.

"Oh, I know," Ron said, "That's the box with inventions that don't work or are not finished yet. Look at this one. You remember the Metamorph medals somebody sold that did not work properly? I know Fred and George were working on those; they told me they were not far from the solution. And what is this?" They eyed a box containing a silver powder. _Apparition Jinx – splinching - put together again - not working yet_ one of the twins had scribbled on top of the box.

"Mhm, not working? That has yet to be proven. If the powder does not work, nothing is lost," Harry said and grinned. "But just imagine Snape -- the conceited bastard -- unable to Apparate properly. This should be the perfect revenge."

They could barely wait for the next lesson. The only thing they had to do was dust a little of the silver powder in the Apparition hoop before any other students came in. Of course, they could not tell the third member of The Golden Trio, Hermione, either. For reasons unknown, she always defended Snape and would not support their prank. A pity, really!

"You will remember the three Ds," Snape lectured. "Destination, Determination, Deliberation. Today, however, we will practise what you should have learned in your last lesson. The majority of you will probably topple over when trying to turn on their heel. For those of you who actually manage this the major problem is Determination. You have been warned that a lack of concentration can end in splinching. I doubt that more than three of you will succeed in Apparating properly today. Although it is simple enough if you concentrate." Snape stepped into the hoop, smiling unpleasantly at his students.

_I'd really like to see Potter splinched; he's as arrogant as his father. He is so convinced that now that the Dark Lord is defeated, he does not need to pay attention_. A little voice in his head contradicted, _He's a boy, Severus. He has had no parents and has had to endure much over the years. _

As usual, Severus did not pay attention to that voice. He turned deftly on his heel and... Instead of Snape appearing in the other hoop after the inevitable _pop_ , the students were appalled by a loud _bang_ and silver sparks raining down on them. And then they saw Snape, no, not Snape, he had splinched… A heap of black fabric, four legs and arms, two heads... The mass tried to untangle itself, and the students looked at, well, they were not quite sure whether they could trust their eyes.

"What the... Take your nose out of... What...?" Snape barked, straightening up. Then he blinked, and blinked again. The picture remained the same -- he was looking at _himself._ His mouth opened, but no words came out.

After closer inspection, the second Snape was not really identical. He had glossy hair, and his skin was lightly tanned. He was surrounded by a kind of, well, small silver aura and, paradoxically, his whole frame looked slightly paler. Who, or what, was he?

"Who the hell are you?" Snape bellowed.

His twin grinned and scratched his chin, cocking an eyebrow. "Well, I'm you, as you are probably able to see."

"Nice trick," Ron muttered dryly. "Now we've got two Snapes. If one of them gets ill, we'll always have a backup. Just great!"

Still, Harry had not uttered a word. Two Snapes! This prank had backfired, indeed. He could not tell anybody; his classmates would kill him.

Eventually, one of the portraits shrieked, "Somebody call Professor Dumbledore!"

Filch, who had appeared at the entrance in the meantime, ran. Nobody had seen him run that fast ever. He nearly tripped over his cat.

"Professor Dumbledore! An Apparition accident! Professor Dumbledore!"

"There he runs," Harry finally muttered. "Snape's only fan. I can't imagine why he is devastated. Now he has two professors providing him with students for detention."

Hermione stood in shocked fascination, her hand before her mouth, watching the two Snapes. The genuine article wore his usual scowl while the other one looked rather amused. Noticing her stare, the latter even smiled in a friendly manner at her. Hermione blushed and bit her lower lip. He had smiled, _really_ smiled, and that did something to his face she had not thought possible. But then again, she had thought of many things…

"Well, well," Dumbledore's voice cut through her thoughts. "Can you tell me what happened, Severus?"

"No. I tried to demonstrate Apparition and ended in a heap with this… thing," Snape spat.

"No need to be impolite, Severus," his twin interjected.

Severus gritted his teeth. "I do _not_ remember being on a first name basis with you."

"Since I am you, this is only logical," Snape II replied.

Dumbledore's usually twinkling eyes looked thoughtful. "We seem to have a problem. Professor Snape, Professor Snape, please follow me." Then he raised his arms. "Today's Potions classes are cancelled. Mr. Weasley, Miss Granger, please notify the other prefects."

While an enraged Severus Snape strode quickly after the headmaster, his twin strolled behind, obviously not worried at all.

The students remained, still shocked.

"Oh, shit," Ron muttered to Harry, "If they find out that we are responsible for this, we'll be expelled."

"Lemon drop?" Dumbledore offered after the three wizards sat down in the office. Snape's scowl deepened when his smiling counterpart took the lemon drop with obvious pleasure.

Albus Dumbledore glanced over his glasses and touched his lips thoughtfully. "You look slightly different. How can you say that you are him?"

"Well, maybe I did not explain this properly. I am not exactly him. I am a thought, a conscience, an idea, of how Severus could have been, should have been, become flesh.

"How dare you!" Snape interrupted, but Dumbledore silenced him.

"Please, Severus, I would like to hear him out. We will need a solution, and I fail to see how an insult could tribute to this."

"Well," Snape II continued, "whereas Apparition transports a person to another place, this accident was a spiritual transportation of Severus Snape how he was meant to be - that's me - into this world. How could this happen? I don't know, perhaps a prank. Now that I am thinking about it, you should probably try to analyse the silver powder on your shoes, Severus."


	2. Chapter 2

**Insights On The New Professor**

**This is the usual disclaimer. I do not own anything. Everything belongs to J.K. Rowling. No money is made.**

**This is my first attempt to write a more humorous story. However, I'm afraid it will turn out to be my usual romance. I promise I'll try though.**

**Dear Lady Whitehart, thank you again for beta reading and for your kindness.**

Indeed, the sides of Severus' shoes were covered with remains of the silver dust, and since Severus remembered silver sparks raining down on him, his_twin_might be right. He would analyse the powder this evening and hopefully get rid of the grinning idiot in the near future.

The headmaster eyed Snape II. "You don't mind me using Legilimency on you, do you?" he asked.

"Of course not," the wizard agreed complaisantly.

Left reassured by the examination, Albus Dumbledore smiled, now with obvious mirth. "Very well, Severus, we have to take care of this problem. So far, we don't know if, or how, your twin's presence in this world will affect you. Another matter are your DADA classes. Since you will have to do a lot of research, and I do not have another professor to take over, he can make himself useful and teach some of your classes. By the way, we need a name for him. We cannot call him Professor Snape; that would be quite confusing. Severus, you do have a middle name, don't you?"

Severus' winced at the mention of his middle name. "You do not have to remind me. What was my mother thinking when she named me Aurelius?" he ground out.

"Well, then it is settled, we will call him Professor Aurelius. Professor Aurelius, tomorrow morning, you will substitute for Severus in his classes while he analyses the powder. Maybe we can send you back soon; otherwise you may take turns. Since today's DADA classes are cancelled, you will have time to show your quarters to Aurelius and maybe discuss the schedule for tomorrow, Severus. I am sure you won't mind sharing quarters with him for a short time; it will be an interesting experience for both of you." Not paying regard to Severus' shocked expression, he added mischievously, "I am quite sure you will get along with each other quite fine. At 7 PM, I expect you and your other colleagues for an extracurricular staff meeting."

The headmaster rose, and Severus understood that he was dismissed. He knew further discussion was futile and rushed out, not looking back, his robes billowing behind him.

In his office, Albus Dumbledore tapped his lips with his index finger. "Maybe, this is your chance, my boy," he mumbled, smiling.

The door of Snape's quarters closed behind them. Aurelius sat down on the sofa, grinning roguishly. "That was really impressive what you did with your robes, this billowing. Perhaps you can teach me..."

"Maybe you find yourself amusing; I on the other hand do not. You may keep your _funny_ remarks to yourself," Severus grumbled. "We have a problem to solve and to get you back to wherever you belong. Therefore, I am sure you will not mind a few questions. First, what do you know about me? Second, what did you mean by 'a thought that became flesh'? "Third, if you are how I was meant to be, why is it that you look like I do, except for a few trifles?"

He stood before the sofa and crossed his arms in front of his chest.

Aurelius smiled slightly, unimpressed by Severus' irritation. "First, I know everything that you experienced, everything you did. I do not, however, know anything about your current feelings, though I may sense certain things sometimes. Your feelings are yours. Obviously, our attitude is completely different. Second, when you had to make a decision, did you ever hear a voice counselling you, a sort of conscience? That was me. Third, I take that you are not content with your outer appearance? Well, I am; what's wrong with it?" Seeing Severus' incredulous expression, he continued, "People are created differently; what is considered beautiful in one era will be considered ugly in the next. Besides, beauty is in the eye of the beholder, the person who loves you." Aurelius sighed. "I know that you have not found this person yet. Besides," he added, "it would not hurt if you worked on these trifles."

Severus scowled. "Am I to believe that I was meant to be a clown? I replaced the talking mirror with a Muggle mirror years ago. I do not set value on getting a walking, talking, grinning mirror now who tells me that my hair is greasy or how I am supposed to behave. You don't know anything about real life."

This time, Aurelius did not smile. "No, Severus, you are wrong. I am how you could have been with the same curriculum vitae as you; it is not the difference in experience that forms us, it is our reaction." Noticing Severus' killing glance, Aurelius added, "Well, since I know you quite well, there is no need trying to intimidate me by glaring at me. It does not work."

For once, Severus was at a loss for words. So he did what he always did, what he did best, he scowled and turned away. He had no interest in talking to Aurelius any longer. Sharing his quarters with Aurelius? Merlin's balls, he had always known that Dumbledore had a sadistic streak. Aurelius would drink his wine and even browse through his books. The only consolation was that he was probably tidy. Since he had been careless enough not to bring any clothing along, Severus would even have to lend his robes to him. Could anything get worse?

Finally all teachers were seated and glancing curiously at the new version of Severus Snape. Albus Dumbledore addressed his colleagues. "Of course, all of you have heard about the incident during the Apparation lesson, and I would like you to welcome Professor Aurelius. We have chosen this name according to Severus' middle name. His appearance seems to be the result of a prank caused by a silver substance we found on Severus' shoes. I will explain the details in a moment."

Severus winced at the mentioning of his middle name. Aurelius only inclined his head and smiled pleasantly at his new colleagues.

"But the most important things first," Dumbledore continued, pulling a scroll out of his robes, "This morning, I had received a most serious letter from the Ministry of Magic. Mr. Percy Weasley informs us that the green form XB 179 for the order of magical paper is replaced by the yellow form XR 785. The order of barn owls for this year is limited to ten, and apparently we have used the incorrect application form for the order of magical quills." The headmaster glanced over his glasses and shook his head slightly. "Minerva, if we have to order new quills, kindly remind me to ignore Mr. Weasley's request.

"Ah, I almost forgot to mention another letter from the Ministry." He smiled at the exasperated faces of his colleagues. "No, no forms. Miss Granger has applied to be allowed to take her NEWTs early. This requires permission from the Ministry and an extra project in a subject of her choice. The Ministry has given their permission, and one of you will be approached by Miss Granger. I hope she will find you willing to help her.

"Now back to the matter you are all anxious to hear about. Aurelius is no ghost, nor is he a duplicate of Severus. In fact, as Aurelius has explained to us, the moment Severus tried to Apparate, something caused his, well, let's say, conscience, or an idea of how Severus should have been, to materialise. The effects are still unknown. Together, Severus and Aurelius will try to send Aurelius back to the spiritual world. Professor Aurelius will also teach some of Severus' classes. I am grateful about the reinforcement to our staff. Needless to say that the students will not be informed about Aurelius' nature. It might cause unnecessary speculations."

All the while, the Hogwarts staff had been whispering amongst each other and glancing at the two wizards in question - the sour-looking edition of the two was scowling defiantly at each and every one. At Dumbledore's mentioning, however, that Aurelius was how he, Severus, should have been, Severus had glared daggers at his colleagues. _Don't say anything wrong, better do not say anything at all. _

Fortunately for them, everybody had refrained from any comments. When heading towards the door, Rolanda Hooch looked back to Severus and grinned. "So this is what you look like when you smile, Severus. Really nice!"

Severus' scowl only seemed to increase with that remark. Without looking back, he rushed out, his robes again billowing behind him. Aurelius smirked – Severus was really predictable.

Aurelius was as unnerving as Severus had expected. Even looking at him made Severus furious. i _His conscience, a thought of how he should have been! Ridiculous!_ He tried not to pay too much attention to Aurelius, but this was not as easy as he had assumed. At times, a tiny little thought escaped his inner censure: _What if it was not too late to change_

He could not complain, though, about Aurelius' work in the lab. Fortunately, the powder was quickly analysed. The ingredients were not rare: powdered rats tails, dried toad mold, strained bobotuber pus, fluxweed, wormwood and cockroaches, dissolved in a mixture of alcohol and magical water. Severus had each of them in his usual stock.

Four hours of brewing and a drying spell later, the powder was nearly ready. Severus was appeased, and his mood improved significantly. Late at night, the powder finished, he fetched a bottle of old Amontillado from his stock and took two glasses out of his cabinet. Tonight he could allow himself to be generous, for tomorrow, the source of irritation would disappear. They would step into the hoop together, they would Apparate, and Aurelius would go back to where he belonged. Good riddance, peace at last.

Of course, it was too much to hope that this last evening with Aurelius would pass by without a aspersion. When Severus emerged from the bathroom later in his grey oversize night shirt, Aurelius arched an eyebrow and said, "Yes, I can see why you are still a bachelor."

Later, when Aurelius himself came out of the bathroom with a towel around his hips after twenty long minutes – how long could a man take for a shower – he complained about the lack of hygiene products. Merlin's beard, was this what he was meant to be – a girly, constantly-grooming Lockhart mutation?

The next day was even worse. After breakfast, Severus conveyed the lucky news, Dumbledore had lifted the Apparation wards and Severus and Aurelius had tried to send Aurelius back – and had failed. Severus had looked for a fault in the analysis, had reread everything he had found out about the powder. He groaned; he had been as meticulous as ever, but it had not worked. For now, he was evidently stuck with Aurelius. However, his frame was slightly paler than Severus'; perhaps he would fade with time. The only question was – when?

His colleagues, this gleeful lot, did not seem to mind the failure. On the contrary, they savoured each moment in Aurelius' company. Feeling that i his /i company was not needed, Severus retreated to his office. After all, there was work to do; he would have to do more research. Leave it to his obtrusive twin to make his appearance in class. Severus had no doubt that Aurelius would be a success; the students would love him. Severus snorted sardonically.

When Aurelius came back from his classes, Severus did not even bother to look up from his textbooks.

"Have you had a good sulk today? Classes were really interesting. Do you want to know how your students behaved today?" Aurelius asked cheerfully.

"I doubt that I can extricate myself from this extraordinary pleasure; you will tell me any minute," Severus replied. "Why is it that you are always grinning, that you are always in such a good humour but pretend to be me? You are making me sick."

"That's the purpose of my efforts, Severus. You are easily led up the garden path."

For the first time, Severus looked at his _twin_ with genuine interest._This_ he could understand and _this_ he liked. Perhaps he and Aurelius were not so different after all. Be that as it may, he was still irritating as hell.

Aurelius continued, "Well, anyway, they were quite wary at the beginning, at least until I deducted twenty points from that insolent boy. What was his name... Malfoy? The mood lightened considerably after that. By the way, congratulations."

"What for?" Severus replied, narrowing his eyes.

"You've got quite a reputation. I taught three of your DADA classes today, and I found a single student who did not dread you. She is the one who will take her NEWTs early, Miss Granger. I was quite astonished about her reaction towards me. She was polite and respectful, but showed no fear like the other students and does not bear a grudge against you. It was interesting how she scrutinised me when she thought I would not notice. I can understand why you might like her better; she is not one of the usual dunderheads. A brilliant witch, and she may be our intellectual equal in a few years. By the by, if you look beyond her funny bushy hair, she's quite pretty."

"She is a student, Aurelius, why would I care how she looks? You better not care either. Besides, you are talking about our resident know-it-all. Why would I like her better? I don't like the students, and they don't like me, and that is how I intend to keep it. Miss Granger is an obtrusive and irritating girl. I have told her often enough. Your knowledge of human nature is abysmal if you think she would not dread me and vice versa," Severus spat furiously.

"No need to be offended, Severus," Aurelius replied pleasantly, grabbed a textbook, and disappeared towards the lab.

Severus was still furious. Now that he knew that Aurelius was not as harmless as he pretended to be, Severus was convinced that Aurelius had mentioned this particular subject deliberately. Aurelius must have noticed that... No, there was no way Aurelius could have noticed that Severus felt anything but exasperation for Hermione Granger. Aurelius had told him that Severus' feelings were his alone, and Severus had been more than careful to hide them behind his usual contemptuous behaviour. This left only one other conclusion that was even worse: Aurelius had also noticed how extraordinary Hermione Granger was.

When Hermione Granger had returned to school for her sixth year, the changes in her had been remarkable. No longer did she try to gain his attention, but she had worked silently and efficiently. Her movements when she flicked her wand were graceful, and there was definitely no foolish wand waving on her part. Her eyes were warm, her demeanour confident, but not overbearing, and obviously, she had become a woman. It was not so much her curves--some fourteen-year-old girls had more curves, and she was still on the delicate side--but her behaviour set her apart from the usual giggling teenagers.

Severus had loathed himself for noticing that a student had become a woman. _If someone could hear the way I think about her – I sound like a hormonal teenager. _

This had never happened to him, and he would not allow himself ever to act against the school rules, least of all against his moral standards. Severus snorted inwardly. Even if i he /i was willing to violate the school laws, Hermione would run in the opposite direction at the thought of her DADA teacher liking her, more than liking her. In his thoughts, she had become _Hermione_ , and that had to stop. It was best not to think of her. He would get over this infatuation.

But it had not become better. His reaction when Albus Dumbledore had conveyed that Hermione Granger would take her NEWTs early had been between relief and anger. But if Aurelius... Severus' fury and jealousy sprang to life again.

A knock on the door disturbed his thoughts. "Enter!" he bellowed. -- "Miss Granger, to what do I owe this unpleasant visit?" he asked gruffly.

Hermione was not intimidated, but remained polite and calm as she always behaved towards him. "Professor Snape, I suppose you know about the project I have to present to the Ministry for my early exam. I would like it to be Potions, and I wanted to ask you whether or not you would agree to tutor me. You might be astonished that I approach you and not the new Potions master, but he, well..." _Shit, how can I tell him that the new Potions master is crap without being rude? Doesn't work. Hermione, you are Gryffindor, be blunt, he will probably slate you anyway._Hermione cleared her throat. "Professor Snape, you've got a certain reputation, you are thorough and you are... much better." _There, she had said it, and no lightning had struck her so far_.

Snape, however, did not seem impressed. "Miss Granger", he answered condescendingly, "surely, with your extraordinary intelligence, you have taken notice of my usually less than existent eagerness of dealing with students outside my classes any longer than necessary. Therefore, I cannot possibly account for your coming here, nonetheless to take up my valuable time. I am convinced you will earn the grades you need much easier with a different project."

"Professor Snape, it's not the grades; it's Potions. I have chosen to pursue a career as a Healer after my exams. Potions will be an important part of my study."

For a moment, Snape was at a loss for words. If possible, he would have paled to a whiter shade than usual. Working together with Hermione Granger in the lab would be worse than classes, which already took up so much of his energy that he could scarcely bear it. He could not do that. "Miss Granger, in case you did not notice, we have a more difficult, _adult_ problem to solve than your project. You may harass one of my colleagues and..."

"She can work with me, Severus," Aurelius' voice interrupted from behind. "We will have to do a lot of research, and she may help me."

Severus whirled around. "This is not up to you to decide! This is _my_ lab, and I will not allow her to disorganise everything!" he shouted.

Hermione was stunned. The two wizards stood face to face like two gamecocks. At least Severus Snape looked as if he wanted to attack any moment.

_How dare he! I will not tolerate Aurelius spending time with Hermione. Over my dead body!_ Severus was boiling with rage. "Well, Miss Granger," he finally said with cumbersome aloofness, "possibly a little help may accelerate our research. You may assist _me_ if you are able and willing to participate in the problem Professor Aurelius and I are working on. I will choose a potion you may brew and tutor you. You will assist me with the problem Professor Aurelius and I have to solve. I make it clear that nothing that is going on here can be discussed with your friends. If I find out that you act against this order, I will make sure that there will be more than serious repercussions. You will join me in my office at 8 o'clock sharp, where I will fill you in on the details. Do not be late." With a condescending nod and a corresponding gesture he dismissed her.

Hermione closed the heavy oaken door carefully behind her. What had just happened in there? When she had decided to approach her Potions professor with her wish for a Potions project, she had been nearly sure that she was going to be turned down. Never in his years at Hogwarts, he had allowed any student to assist him. Yes, she wanted to do a Potions project, but it was not only Potions that she liked. Crazy as it was, she also liked her former Potions professor. She had never told anybody; she would have been the laughing stock of the school if anybody had learned about this infatuation. And if Snape had learned about her feelings, oh my...

_Miss Granger, misguided emotions can lead to cauldron explosions or other accidents. Perhaps detention with Mr. Filch for the rest of the year will show you the advantages of reality_. That was what he probably would have said.

Hermione did not know how she could have developed feelings for Severus Snape. He was thin, had a nose which could not be called aquiline but only beak like, had a sallow skin and a sour demeanour. Usually, men made slim use of their head and had a penchant of discussing themselves. Severus Snape was an exception. He was overbearing, yes, but he i was /i brilliant and never went for superficial flattery like Lockhart. _Look, how wonderful I am!_

As for his outward appearance, no way, he could be a girl's dream man. When other girls had asked Hermione what her dream man looked like, she had not described the usual blond, blue-eyed hunk but had only shrugged and said that she was not fixed on a certain type. She had imagined their faces if she had said that she went for middle-aged, greasy-haired and hook-nosed wizards.

Hermione knew that these few weeks until her early exam were the last she would see Snape ever. He had made clear that he disliked her since her early days at Hogwarts. She had always hoped to gain a little of his acceptance. This would be her last chance.

_And what will you do now that you are allowed to participate in Severus Snape's research? Nothing! You, Hermione Granger, are a coward! You will pine for him while cutting toads' eyes and beetles' legs. That's romance!_

A/N: The name Aurelius is of Latin origin;_aureus_ means _golden_ . We can see why Snape is not so happy with this middle name.


	3. Chapter 3

This was supposed to be the final chapter, but then a make up plot bunny broke free.

As for the following chapter, my maudlin character might gain the upper hand again. When humour and romance start fighting, romance will always win. I hope you will enjoy my excursion into humour; please let me know.

For those of you who have not guessed so far: The real reason why I created a second Snape is so that I can keep one when I have to return the character to J.K. Rowling. Hopefully, she will not notice when I keep the genuine article.

Lady Whitehart, you are a reliable, quick, very kind and competent beta. Thank you so much for beta reading. It is so nice to work with you again.

* * *

**With a Little Help From My Friend**

Severus sat down heavily and covered his face with his hands. What had he done! Working in the lab with her would be purgatory. He had been careful to avoid her during these past few months, but this was futile now that he had promised to tutor her.

Aurelius had goaded him and he, Severus Snape, Head of Slytherin house, had fallen in that trap like a silly Gryffindor. It had been a trap, this he was sure of now. Severus groaned. He heard Aurelius approach and looked up.

"You!" he spat furiously. "You have got some explaining to do!"

"Well," Aurelius said mildly, "I only wanted to help. Obviously, she likes you, and obviously, considering all the hateful stuff you said to her, you like her as well. Being your conscience, I am obliged to help to some extent."

"Help? Of all meddlesome... It is enough that the ubiquitous busybody of a headmaster tries to _help_ me with my social life time and again, and now you even try to --" Severus stopped suddenly as the full meaning of Aurelius' words sunk in. "Obviously?"

"Not to her, of course. I am, however, able to _translate_, and I am more than willing to work on a solution with you." Aurelius offered. "You should be grateful, Severus, not angry. You are really in a peculiar mood."

"I have been in a peculiar mood since the day I was born, but that is not important. She is a student, Aurelius, a _student_. Do I have to spell it out for you? What kind of conscience are you?" Severus growled, still angry.

"I am _you_, Severus, not competition. Let me explain something. As your conscience, I act according to what benefits your personality. Remember, I am how you could have been, maybe still can be. I am neither a saint nor the incarnation of goodness. I am _your_ conscience which is different from any others. Severus, she will be your student for only a few more weeks. With a little help..."

"If you are stuck with me here and cannot return to your world, I advise that you pursue a career in the matchmaking business," Severus muttered sarcastically.

Aurelius arched an eyebrow. "A jest, Severus? Maybe there _is_ hope for you."

Severus' anger faded. _Maybe, Aurelius is right. Whom can I trust if not myself? Perhaps..._ "We will discuss this later on, Aurelius. In order to work together properly, we will have to explain the situation to Miss Granger. No doubt that you will be eager to tell her who you are," he said gruffly.

Aurelius was not offended. "I think _you_ should tell her. Why not surprise her, Severus? How about doing something... nice?" he continued innocently. "I cannot deny that certain selfish intentions may be diluting my otherwise altruistic intentions. I have to admit that this is actually fun, and it is up to you as to how much more fun it will be.

"I also have an additional suggestion. Maybe you should wear some loose fitting garment while working in the lab with Miss Granger or otherwise she will probably notice how, uhm, happy you are to see her. Alternatively, you might try a deflating spell."

At the sight of colour creeping in Severus' cheeks, he added, "As I told you, there is nothing wrong with you liking Miss Granger. You can't explain feelings or do anything about them. I know that you would never act according to these feelings before she finishes school. I would never suggest you do. Anyway, maybe, you should smile every now and then. What you are doing is an upside down smile, commonly known as frown. As for some of the necessary changes..." Aurelius reached into the pockets of his robes and pulled out three bottles.

"CHIEF Shampoo, CHIEF Conditioner, CHIEF Body Wash? What is this?" Severus asked, a suspicious frown already creasing his forehead.

"Well, you may reject your Muggle heritage; I, however, do not. I remember telling you numerous times that you should do something with your hair. If you'll let me explain to you how…"

"It seems to me that you may be labouring under a misapprehension. You are supposed to be me and not my nanny," Severus growled, rising from his chair. "And let me assure you, I am perfectly able to shower and wash my hair myself." He grabbed the bottles and disappeared into the bathroom.

_The refreshing, non-irritating shower pleasure for a man's sensitive skin._ He sniffed at the bottle he had opened. He had to admit that this stuff did not smell bad, but of course, his conscience would have excellent taste. After a hot shower and a hair wash with this Muggle concoction, a glance in the mirror left him stunned.

Well then, maybe, this was fun for Aurelius. Up to now, fun had been a foreign word to Severus. Fun was not what he had in mind, but Aurelius' presence might as well turn out to be an advantage instead of the disaster he had feared. Severus had survived Voldemort, he had survived the pea-brained students, and Albus Dumbledore's sweets for over twenty years. Maybe, it was time to turn a new page. Maybe, it was time to surprise them all.

Thirty minutes later, he emerged from the bathroom with glossy hair and something that resembled a smile on his face. "Well then, Aurelius, I accept your help. We need to talk, but first I am laying down a few ground rules for you..."

"Hermione!" When Hermione left Snape's office, she was waylaid and flanked by two red-haired wizards – Fred and George Weasley.

Hermione grinned. "Hi Fred, hi George, what are you doing here, looking for some victims for _simple, part-time and virtually painless jobs_?" In her fifth year, Fred and George had convinced unsuspecting first-years to eat their self-invented Nosebleed Nougat and Ton-Tongue Toffees in their test stage.

"Well, Hermione..." George said.

"We heard about the accident," Fred continued. "And we couldn't fail to notice the disappearance of a box with an Apparition-jinx-powder that had been stashed under a bed in our room... where our dear long-nosed brother, Ron, must have found it. Since Ron isn't so eager to tell us what happened..."

"... and since we heard that you will be working with Snape, we thought that you might be willing to tell us more about the two of them. The powder wasn't ready yet, and the appearance of a second Snape is obviously not very suitable for a marketing campaign. On the other hand, business is business, and with some changes... Maybe we could talk about a share of four percent..."

"... if you are able to find out what has initially caused the second Snape to appear," Fred interjected.

"No," Hermione replied cheerfully, without further explanation.

"We even might be willing to give you five percent of the sales revenue. If it sells," George added.

Hermione laughed. "Which part of _no_ don't you understand? No way, you guys. I won't be your spy, not for four, or for five or ten percent. And I don't advise you to talk to anybody else if you don't want to get Ron expelled." With this remark, she left the twins standing in the corridor and disappeared towards her rooms.

_So an Apparition jinx was the reason why Professor Aurelius had appeared_, she pondered. Still, this did not explain the differences between the two of them. While their appearances were very similar, their personalities were very different. Aurelius was witty and loved irony, but he lacked the bitterness of the original. Well, this evening, she would certainly learn more.

After the first lesson with Professor Aurelius, the students had talked about nothing else. Unanimously, they had agreed that all would be better off with the new edition of Snape. Unless he turned out to be a hypocrite, there was no doubt that he was fairer and a lot nicer than the original, not that this took much. Hermione had been stunned at the sight of Aurelius' smile that made this man nearly handsome. Immediately, she had realised how difficult this situation had to be for Severus Snape. With this nice _twin_, he would soon be more despised than ever before.

Hermione was back at the office at eight o' clock sharp as Severus Snape had ordered. Something definitely was wrong here. He did not glare, and his hair was _not_ greasy. He had always smelled clean; she had smelled the soap when he had stood next to her cauldron, but now he smelled... great. While he still could not be called handsome, his whole demeanour had changed; even some of his malevolence seemed gone too. She looked at him several times to be sure that he was indeed Severus and not Aurelius.

"You may take a seat, Miss Granger. As I told you before, everything you will be learning while working with me is strictly confidential. You were present at the Apparition lesson, Miss Granger. Professor Aurelius and I have found out by now that his appearance was caused by a powder at my shoes when I Apparated. Although it was not difficult to analyse the powder and to produce an amount of it, we failed to send Aurelius back to… where he came from. What you do not know is that..." Snape rose and began to pace. This was decidedly uncomfortable, and it was his own entire fault. _He_ had allowed Hermione Granger to assist him, but on the other hand if Aurelius was right, and she was interested in him... Severus coughed and tried to clear his throat. "Professor Aurelius is, uhm, kind of my conscience become flesh or a thought of how I could have been. What you will be doing is assist me with the research; we will try to find out why we did not succeed." Snape looked up, searching Hermione's face for signs of amusement or pity, but he saw only interest and something that could be sympathy.

"I have read the regulations the Ministry has issued about the projects for students who want to take their NEWTs early." Snape continued, some of his tension dissolving due to Hermione's calm reaction. "It is up to me as the supervising teacher to choose the potion after interviewing you. The more difficult the potion, the more credits you will be awarded for this subject. You will brew the potion, write a report, and collect a sample that you will present to the Ministry. I will certify that you have brewed the potion without any help. As for my choice -- it might be beneficial for your future career as a Healer to learn how to brew the Wolfsbane Potion."

Hermione's eyes widened, then she blinked and looked right into Severus' eyes. The Wolfsbane Potion? That was one of the most complicated potions in the wizarding world! Professor Snape had enough confidence in her to assign her the brewing of this potion? Not once in her years at Hogwarts had he paid her a compliment. Often enough had he ridiculed her, and now... This was the strongest approval he could give her. So she had been wrong; he did not despise her. She swallowed and tried desperately to suppress tears from welling up in her eyes.

"Miss Granger," Snape said, mockingly, but without his usual contempt. "If I had known what reaction my choice of potions would evoke, I would have chosen something less dangerous like... Polyjuice. Although the side effects can be very strange if the ingredients are not carefully chosen."

Hermione was stunned and blinked. He knew about the incident with the Polyjuice, about the hair of Millicent Bulstrode's cat she had accidentally added, but he hadn't punished her. He even _joked_ about it. What did that mean?

She searched his face and she looked in his eyes. They were black, and sometimes, when watching him at Order meetings, Hermione had thought his eyes looked sad. Back in class, they had always been cold and distant. Some students had even compared them to black tunnels, empty as a zombie's eyes. Now his eyes were anything but cold... Oh, my!

"Miss Granger, when you are finished thinking, I will show you to my private lab. Perhaps it is possible to walk and think at the same time," Snape added, ushering her towards the door.

Still trying to shake off her whirling thoughts, Hermione followed him to his lab. Looking around, she noticed that it was meticulous--not that she had expected anything less.

His private lab - this was fantastic! Her eyes were glittering. She wondered why he kept a private lab in addition to the already well-equipped one of the school. Since he had applied for the job as DADA teacher every year, everybody had assumed that Severus Snape's true passion was Defence Against the Dark Arts, but obviously, everybody had been wrong.

Severus was watching her. Her fascination was obvious. Aurelius was right; in a few years, she would be his intellectual equal. He had always sensed that she respected him and had several times overheard her defending him when a classmate had called him a greasy git. According to Aurelius, however, it was more than respect she felt for him. If only he were fifteen or twenty years younger. Then again, even fifteen years ago, nobody would have considered him nice or handsome. Why would she be interested in him?

He had to fight against his usual pessimism getting the upper hand again. "Miss Granger, this will be all for today. Twice a week, directly after supper, you will join me in my office. All research will be done here. You will not read any textbooks in the library as this might cause unnecessary speculation. Once a week, you will work in my private lab in order to brew the Wolfsbane Potion. You will have noticed that none of your usual textbooks contains a complete list of the necessary ingredients. Concocted wrong, the potion is not only useless, but also poisonous. I will provide you with a pass for the Restricted Section of the Hogwarts Library where you will find the required book. I will also provide you with some ingredients you will not be able to obtain. I will supervise you, and I hope you will not disappoint my... confidence in you."

"Professor Snape, I am honoured more than I can say." Hermione looked up and smiled at him.

None of his students had ever dared smile at him. "You will not talk about this project to your classmates either," Snape grumbled. "When you tell your classmates that you will be tutored by me, you will probably be able to make them think that the headmaster talked me into this. I do not want to be bothered by any of these dunderheads. You may leave now."

When Hermione had left the room, Aurelius peeked around the corner, grinning. "I must say that this went very well. She definitely likes you. Let's see… what we need now is a plan."

Hermione felt nearly dazed when she left Severus' office. He had been more than civil. She had gotten quite a lot to think about today. Translated Snape-ish into English, she had received the greatest compliment in her life, but not only this, he had been… really nice. And the way he had looked at her had been… more than civil or nice - was it possible that he was interested in her?

Ironically, Severus Snape, the former Death Eater, who obviously enjoyed tormenting his students, had a sense of honour that would never allow him begin a relationship with a student. However, she was of age and would not be his student much longer. What she needed now was a plan. Touching him _inadvertently_ while working together was stupid. She could try a _subtle_ address. _'Professor Snape, I've always had feelings for you, and now that you've washed your hair and I know that you have the most wonderful smile, I'd really like to kiss you…' Oh yeah, great!_

Yesterday, the only thing she had wanted was to spend some of the remaining time at Hogwarts in his presence, impressing him with her abilities. Today, however, she had seen him look at her, and now she wanted more. She wanted to be noticed as a woman, but unfortunately, there were certain obstacles. She was seventeen, and she looked seventeen. It had to be possible to change this, but how?

Unlike most girls her age, Hermione had never spent much time grooming herself. She showered in the morning, washed before going to bed, brushed her teeth, brushed her hair, – so far, she had not been able to tame the unruly mass of frizzy hair – she used a vanishing cream, and plucked her eyebrows. But she refused to waste her time like other girls, such as Lavender Brown, by using tons of make up and nail polish to make up for brains.

Oh yes, Lavender Brown, that hypocrite! Once in her life, for the Yule Ball in her fourth year, Hermione had asked Lavender to help her with hair and make up and regretted it deeply afterwards. Not only that it had taken hours to tame her hair, and the pins in her hair had given her a terrible headache, but Lavender had told all her friends how difficult it had been to make Hermione up since her lips were not lush enough, her eyes were too small and her lashes were ridiculously short. Hermione would rather die than ask that girl to help her again.

She still disliked wasting her time, but she knew that there was a reason for the adage that it was more important for a girl to be beautiful than smart because men were better at looking than at thinking. Of course, Severus Snape was an exception, but he was a man after all.

Hermione had read about makeovers in _Witch Weekly _, plain girls who had emerged as beauties after a change in style of clothing and makeup. Well, a makeover was out of question; she liked her jeans and sweaters. Every now and then, she liked to dress up, but she would not change her style of clothing completely only to impress a man, even if it was Severus Snape. An article in _Witch Weekly_ had pointed out that small changes in makeup could result in major differences in the appearance. Well, she did not use any; she would have to learn. Hermione could not ask her mother either, who was a no-nonsense woman that Hermione had never seen wearing makeup.

_Your father does not like lipstick on his shirts, dear, and it's so difficult to remove the makeup from the collar of my blouse. Besides, our clients might doubt my respectability if I wore makeup and blusher._ Hermione had not understood what respectability had to do with lipstick, but be that as it may, her mother would be of no help, and she'd rather die than ask Lavender. However, for Christmas, her aunt had sent her a beauty case, and she had even brought it with her. Yes, there it was in the back of the closet. She had not even bothered opening it; she did not know how to use it. Now she opened the case and sat back, impressed: mascara, all kinds of eye shadow, lip-gloss, rouge, and different shades of makeup; with that much to choose from it could not be that difficult.

An hour later, though, her initial optimism and conviction that this would be easy had all but vanished. Maybe Lavender was not that dumb after all. Hermione's mirror had screamed at the sight of her, and nearly Hermione had screamed too. She looked like a clown, clumps of the mascara clung to her lashes, her skin looked tanned at best and what should have accentuated her cheekbones and made look them elegant – at least according to the label on the rouge box – looked like big red spots. Who had spread the rumour that women had a natural sense for beauty and liked to paint their faces? Probably a man who liked to torment women!

Well, obviously, _her_ skills lay elsewhere. Furious, Hermione fetched some tissues and started scrubbing her face. Her mother was right; it would be hell to get the stains out of her blouse. Banging the bathroom door angrily behind her, Hermione decided to take a shower. Either she could impress Severus without this stuff, or he could jump in a lake! Hermione's mood did not lighten after the shower. As always, her bushy hair was even frizzier than before. _A mop, I look like a mop,_ she thought.

The sight of the two Snapes entering the Great Hall for breakfast the next morning rendered most of the students speechless. The usual murmur subsided. During the past few days, the hostility Severus Snape showed towards his second edition had been obvious. He had done his best to ignore him at meals and his demeanour had been worse than ever. Now they entered _together_, even their strides synchronic. At first glance, they were hardly distinguishable.

As always at breakfast, Ron was shovelling a huge amount of scrambled eggs without paying attention to his surroundings. When Harry elbowed him, he whined.

"Hey, are you crazy? That hurt!" Ron looked at Harry, irritated, and blinked to make sure he did not hallucinate. Then he shrugged. "So what? The greasy git has washed his hair." Showing what his top priority was, he continued with his breakfast, unimpressed.

Snape's colleagues seemed to enjoy the transformation. Severus and Aurelius were greeted cheerfully. For a certain student, however, two Snapes were more than he could bear.

"Oh bugger," Harry groaned lowly. "Snapes United. What have I done!"

* * *

A/N: Snape's change might appear a little out of character, so I'd like to explain. My idea was that Severus had always tried to improve his hair, but had never been able to remove the grease. This Muggle shampoo changed his appearance completely. Severus realised for the first time that he was not that ugly. It seemed logical to me that his demeanour would be different. Ten years ago, when I had my hair cut from a boring shoulder length perm to a asymmetric cut with a green strand of hair, I felt completely different afterwards, daring, modern and more alive. That feeling was what I wanted to express through Severus' character. 


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N:I intended this to be a rather short story, but in the middle of this chapter, I noticed that the relationship between our two protagonists was not really improving. I was unsure how to go on. My beta shared my doubts and had several pieces of advice. One of them was that I should write more chapters; she didn't think you would mind.Maybe change to "she didn't think you would mind." but that's your call.**

**By the way, did you know that the best remedy for menopause disorders is a huge amount of reviews? If you don't believe it, try. You don't want to be responsible for my hot flashes and migraines, do you?**

**Have I mentioned that I don't own anything, and that I'm making no money? Okay, okay, I know this is boring. If you are looking for brilliant disclaimers, I recommend LariLee's. Hey, and Lady Whitehart promised me a disclaimer in poetry form. Yeah! So watch out!**

**Dear Lady Whitehart, thank your being such a nice, wonderful, sensitive, quick, and competent beta. Pointing out mistakes may be easy, but doing it the way you do is not. You never try to change my style of writing, and I can recognise my story after you beta-ed it. Thank you again so much.**

**Hey, I can afford two betas now. Welcome on board, Trickie Woo! Considering our emails during the past few weeks, we'll get along really fine.**

Chapter 4

**Communication**

Those who had assumed that the _new and improved_ Severus Snape would become a harmless pet were soon proven wrong. He remained a predator, always ready to pounce on an unprepared or dim-witted student. However, part of his malevolence seemed to be gone, not that anybody would call him fair. Though Aurelius was a lot nicer than Severus was, he could not be called harmless either. In fact, two Snapes turned out to rather dangerous for the students -- two of them giving detentions, two of them prowling the corridors.

Severus sat on his sofa, a glass of red wine beside him, tracing his lips with his index finger, his lips curled in a slight smile. When he had entered the Great Hall together with Aurelius, he had seen the flabbergasted glances of the students and the staff, and he had savoured each moment. Well, not each moment exactly; when Rolanda Hooch had eyed him from head to foot with an appraising glance, Severus had noticed that his new outer appearance had not only advantages, but disadvantages as well.

Contemplating the events of the preceding weeks, Severus knew that his life had definitely changed. Some weeks ago, he had been an embittered man in his late-thirties, with a vast number of boring years ahead, a man with no friends, and a hopeless infatuation with a student.

And now… Aurelius had told him that he wanted to be his friend. A friend, this was still somewhat weird. Never, even as a boy, he had had friends. As for girlfriends – a definite zero too. In his youth, Severus had not been exactly the focus of the girls' attention. He had lacked basic social skills back then, no wonder considering the family he came from.

His parents' marriage had been a disaster. His mother, Eileen Prince had literally bewitched the young and handsome Tobias Snape. When Severus was a toddler, his father had found out that his wife was a witch and his son showed these skills too. He had reacted with violence, had beaten Eileen and his son. i Well, you are a witch. Let's see how often you can heal him/i he had sneered. After a while, Severus had begged his mother not to mend his broken nose and battered teeth. His nose had remained hooked and his teeth crooked, but he'd rather look ugly than endure further beatings. Eileen had been relieved when Severus had left for Hogwarts at age eleven and had not even returned for vacation if possible. Though Severus' mother was a witch and highly intelligent, she was weak where Tobias was concerned. From his early childhood, Severus had learned that there was nobody who helped or supported him. He had been awkward and distrustful, always suspecting the worst and hating everything that was Muggle. No pureblood could reject Muggles with the fierceness he did. Even after he had turned away from the Death Eaters, Severus had never completely overcome his prejudices.

In his time as a spy, his situation had not allowed any kind of relationship save the brief sexual encounters with some female Death Eaters. Most of these women were only cruel, and they lacked real bravery. Seldom had he seen women who could put up with him, and for years, he had thought himself the typical bachelor, until now.

He had seen the look of confusion on Hermione Granger's face when he had agreed to tutor her after Aurelius' interference. He noticed the brilliant sparkle in her eyes when she has seen his lab. He had secretly enjoyed her excitement when he had told here that she would be learning to brew the Wolfsbane Potion. Finally, the astonished expression on her face when he and Aurelius had entered the Great Hall together had pleased him more than words could say.

Hermione was different. Yes, Aurelius was right; in a few years, she would probably be his intellectual equal. She had always been courageous and loyal. He remembered exactly the day when for the first time he had looked at her and had seen more than the irritating student. She had stood up to him then. He had pointed out the inadequacy of Longbottom's work; of course, Longbottom had reacted as the wimp he was. Suddenly, Hermione Granger had risen, her eyes blazing, looking him straight into his eyes, and had asked why he had acted so cruelly. With another student, he would have thought it the typical Gryffindor stupidity, but she was different. She had known that she would get detention for this, and though he had mocked her in his usual way, he had admired her bravery. No other student would have asked for the reason why he was being so cruel; it was simply a stated fact that he i was /i that kind of person. Nobody had noticed any difference in his behaviour; he had been as overbearing and cruel as ever, but inside he had been shell-shocked.

That moment, Severus had also noticed for the first time what beautiful eyes she had, brown with little green sparks. He had wanted her gaze directed at him not with rage but with passion and had been startled himself by this emotion. It was completely irrational. He had always been the poster boy for a man without emotions; his students would swear that he had no heart, and there he stood, shaken, when a young woman looked in his eyes. If he had not known better, he would have guessed that somebody had administered a love potion to him. It was as if a switch had been turned on. In every lesson, he watched her carefully.

Her hair was frizzy as it had always been, but he rather liked it and wondered how it would feel between his fingers. Her nose was slightly pointed and gave her face a impish expression. The hair was rather auburn than brown and her skin fair and a little freckled. He liked it that she did not paint her face with all kinds of makeup. He considered makeup and special clothing kind of a bluff package. An encounter with a witch he had taken to bed had really sobered him. Her lashes had been artificial; her tiny waist had been the result of a corset and her ample cleavage the result of a push-up bra

Hermione was different. Obviously, she did not pay that much attention to the outer appearance of a person which was all the better for him as he would never be considered handsome. Wizardry could do much, but it couldn't perform miracles.

Still, he was at a loss as to why she would like him. Severus had no illusions about himself; he knew he was no prize. He would not change into an easygoing Aurelius.

He only hoped that Hermione's presumed emotions had nothing to do with hero worship. What rubbish had been written about him after the fall of Voldemort! Politics had needed a spotless hero, and Severus had been made a knight in shining armour. Of course nobody would have liked to hear how often he had come close to betraying Dumbledore when Voldemort had struck him with the Cruciatus Curse, or how often he had been tempted to abandon it all and leave.

Nobody had wanted to hear that he had been present at the Death Eaters' raids when Muggles or people who opposed to Voldemort's goals had been killed. Severus had been awarded the Order of Merlin First Class, and a biographer he had never seen in his life had written a book about _The True Severus Snape_. Severus had been made a noble suffering hero, his abysmal behaviour in class and towards everyone only a disguise, a misunderstood man who had put his life in danger for the Light, and the author had made a lot of money. The sales had dropped a little when some people realised that Severus behaviour was still kind of antisocial, but who cared?

In the aftermath of this book, Severus had discovered the advantages of being a hero. Suddenly women had noticed him. Not having had an overwhelming love life in the preceding years, he had seized the opportunity. He had not been picky and had regretted this rather soon. The first witch had always complained about his indulgence in a good book and a quiet evening before the fireplace. _Severus, darling, these books your're reading are so boring, but I have found the most interesting article in i Witch Weekly about a new method in Divination and how to find your soul mate. You prepare tea leaves as usual and then…"_ She had not been amused when he had fallen asleep during her talk, and since he had refused to trade boobs for brains in the long run, this short interlude had ended soon.

The other one had obviously mistaken him for a hallstand. "_Severus, dear, sex with you is great, but don't you think you could wear robes a i little /i more modern? And could you get rid of this ho-rri-ble nightshirt? To who did it belong before, your grandmother? You're looking like an old bachelor."_ Well, he _was_ an old bachelor, perhaps not that old but certainly set in his ways, and he had also noticed that she was not even able to use proper grammar; it should be _whom_ not _who_ . This relationship had ended abruptly when she had taken one of his books and read it in the bathtub.

With the glory of be a hero fading, Severus reverted to his comfortable old ways. Now that he had followed Aurelius' advice concerning his appearance, Severus had the same disadvantages as before, just without the benefits of getting laid on a regular basis.

Everything would be different with Hermione. Maybe he could… compromise sometimes though he nearly cringed at the word itself. Granted, she was a bit bossy, but on the other hand, she was only seventeen years old going on eighteen. Of course, he would not allow her to cause mayhem in his life. How difficult could it be to mould her to his expectations? He knew he was cunning and a whiz with words. As brilliant as she was, she lacked his experience in life. Be that as it may, he needed a plan, a plan and a list of requirements. She was a sensible woman; surely, she would not be opposed to a few rules. She was not to touch his books without his permission and supervision, and he would not tolerate any changes in his robes. He was sure that she would adjust.

Hermione Granger sat on an easy chair, books scattered around her. Severus had brought an enormous pile from the Hogwarts Library and an equal pile from his private library, but right now, she was not reading about Apparitions but thinking about Severus Snape.

The beauty case was safely tucked away; she'd never use it again. The incident with the makeup had made her think about her plan, about what she wanted from Severus Snape. Perhaps it was only a ridiculous crush on her part; perhaps she should call off the whole thing. From a demure point of view, they would be as mismatched as they come. From a demure point of view, he was a man she'd be better off without. On the other hand, she had thought Ron a good match at one time.

Hermione nearly sniggered when she imagined her parents' reaction if she presented Severus Snape to them as her boyfriend. Though her parents had agreed to send her to Hogwarts when they had learned that their daughter was a witch, they had never been comfortable with the concept of magic and had hoped that she would prefer the _real_ world one day. Hermione had not talked much about her schedule at Hogwarts, knowing that her parents would not understand. The Grangers would definitely be appalled at the description of a profession that required the cutting of toad's eyes, slugs, and beetles. But who were they to complain, actually having fun poking around in other people's teeth? They would come around eventually.

Her friends, however, would react differently. For them, Severus Snape was still the Big Bad Bat, and nothing would change their point of view, not that Severus cared. Her friends… For Harry she had always been like a sister. Then there was Ron. Even when he had finally noticed that she was a girl, he had not been the incarnation of a romantic lover either. She had just been somewhat convenient for him. After a few sloppy kisses and a little awkward groping, she had realised that they were not meant for each other. Ron had not kindled erotic feelings in her the way she had expected. Furthermore what would she do with a boyfriend whose major interests were food and Quidditch?

Hermione had always had the impression that everybody thought she was boring, sticking to rules, and being overbearing. Nothing she had done had seemed to change that point of view. Even when _she_ had initiated Dumbledore's Army in their fifth year. Harry had gotten all the credit. It had been due to _her_ research that Voldemort had been destroyed by Harry's hex. Of course, casting the hex had been the feat, and her research had barely been mentioned afterwards. Not that she had been jealous, but hadn't it been typical! She was only a girl after all.

In the Muggle word, women still faced discrimination, but the wizarding world beat it all. Many wizards still wanted their wife to give up their profession after marriage and bear a bunch of children. A lot of witches her age didn't seem to mind; they finished school, worked for a short time, and married at age nineteen or twenty. The few female teachers were not married. Many male teachers tended to favour the boys. Most of them would have been flabbergasted if she told them that their _jokes_ were offensive. Maybe one of the reasons why she was attracted by Severus was because he sneered at both sexes equally.

Her peers thought her uninspired. Sometimes she felt just like that, very boring. Nobody would miss her when she would leave after her early NEWTs, not even Ron and Harry. Oh yes, they would visit her sometimes but only to tell her about _their_ latest Quidditch matches, _their_ latest girlfriends, _their_ latest pranks and _their_ plans. Probably they wouldn't even bother to ask her about _her_ wishes. Their loss! She would move on and would not ask whether they were offended by her choice of boyfriend – provided that she was right, and Severus was indeed interested in her.

Besides, she was positive that she needed a man and not a boy. She was not overbearing, but she knew that her knowledge and intelligence were far from being average. She would not be able to cope with a partner who was not a challenge for her -- and Severus would be a challenge, oh my!

Fantasising about Severus from a secure distance was one thing, but now it seemed as if these fantasies had a chance to become reality. Hermione had felt the proverbial butterflies in her stomach when she had noticed how Severus was watching her. His reaction when Professor Aurelius had offered to supervise her had been weird, as if he had been jealous. His eyes and his firmly set jaw had shown…something. She'd never seen him lose control.

Anyway, all these musings were castles in the air. The next weeks when they would work together would tell.

Hermione sighed and ground her teeth. After two weeks working for Severus, she was disappointed, not only disappointed, but she felt anger coiling up in her. She did not know what she had expected. Severus always approached silently and stopped only inches from her, eyed the results of her work and departed. Probably he approved; otherwise, he would have said something. Hermione nearly jumped every time, the tension being palpable. i Damn, damn, damn/i

Oh, she knew what was wrong. Partly, it was her attitude. In trying to please Severus and to make him want her, she had changed her behaviour completely. The confident young woman she had become during the past years was turning into a sycophant. '_Yes, Professor Snape, of course, Professor Snape. '_In the past she had always been polite because she thought the teachers should be shown respect, not to earn good grades.

Many of her classmates still did not understand this and thought her an overachiever. Long ago, she had stopped trying to convince them to the contrary. The incident with the Troll in her first year had her brought two friends, Harry and Ron. It had also taught her to stand up for what she believed. And now she was so afraid to displease Severus that she did not even complain after having worked her arse off for his research only to be seen off with a curt nod in the evening. She was studying for her final exams, preparing the ingredients for the Wolfsbane Potion, and spending the rest of her spare time doing research for Severus in order to send Aurelius back to the spiritual world.

And _best_ of all, it was obvious that Severus did not care for her. He only talked to her if necessary; okay, he was nicer than he had ever been, if she counted the lack of contemptuous remarks towards her as nice. Merlin only knew why he had allowed her to participate in the research! Perhaps it had been hurt pride when Aurelius had offered to supervise her or maybe he felt obliged to behave in a civil manner now that Aurelius was around. Perhaps he had really needed help and was too cheap to pay for anyone. Yes, he had bestowed a rare ingredient for the Wolfsbane Potion on her she had not been able to obtain but perhaps this was only his bad conscience or Aurelius had made him do it.

One thing she knew now, it had nothing to do with feelings on Severus' part. She had seen pictures of him in the newspaper with the witches -- bitches – shortly after the fall of Voldemort and had seen that he was able to be gallant if he wished to be. The lack of acerbic remarks might also have other reasons. Maybe Aurelius was responsible for this; he was Severus' conscience after all.

_Err, stop it; you're beginning to think like Harry. The fact that Severus does not have feelings for you does not make him an evil man._ Hermione calmed down when she realised that she was being unfair in her anger. She was glad, however, that she had hidden her emotions for her teacher so well; it would have been completely embarrassing if he had learned about them.

As things turned out, everything had been a great illusion. If wishes were horses…Obviously, she had read too many romance novels with dark brooding heroes going all soft on the heroine, and of course, Severus had not read any of these romance novels. Suddenly Hermione was not so sure whether she would want this dark brooding hero at all, even if he harboured feelings for her which she doubted by now. What would she do with an intelligent, even ingenious man who did not talk at all? Reading she could do alone. Besides his famous snide comments, Severus was not exactly the talkative type. If she waited for romance, she'd wait forever.

Ron lacked brains; this one definitely lacked the ability or desire to socialise. She wanted a man she could admire, but also a boyfriend she could spend her leisure time with. In any case, it was useless to think of Severus any longer. Her dreams had turned out to be just… dreams. Only a few weeks from now, and she'd never see him again. Perhaps it was better this way. From now on, she would concentrate on her exams and her future career. Hopefully, she'd forget about him some day and would find a suitable partner, too. She knew she would never be content with nothing but her career. For now, she would move on.

Two evenings of the week were reserved for research in Severus' and Aurelius' project. Aurelius had made it a habit to join Hermione for a short talk. Hermione sat relaxed in an easy chair, feet propped beneath her, a book in her lap and the others scattered on a table nearby. Aurelius scanned the titles and headlines. _A Guide Through The Spiritual World, Defence Against Apparitions, Getting Rid Of Ghosts, Draining The Strength Out Of Ghosts, Apparating Accidents_ and much more. He grabbed a book and skimmed through the directory and some articles. One of them had mentioned a phenomenon, similar to that of Aurelius that had happened in the 13th century. The wizard had tried to get rid of his _twin_ by killing him. "Considering, I should be grateful so far," Aurelius murmured dryly. Then he read on. The spell had backfired, and the wizard had died himself. "Consoling," Aurelius added, "It seems I'm safe." In another case, the wizard had been driven insane by the apparition. Only in one case the _twin_ had disappeared, but the reason why had been inexplicable.

"So far, I havn't found anything," Hermione said. Then she giggled. "You know, what my first thought was when I saw both of you? I was reminded of an old Muggle TV-advertisement. The homemaker doesn't not use the right brand of fabric softener and a spectre appears, a sort of conscience, and tells her to use the right brand. Then, when the woman obeys this order, the spectre disappears."

Aurelius laughed out loudly, amusement dancing in his eyes. Hermione looked up at him and smiled. She had never expected to be so at ease with Aurelius. From the corner of her eye, Hermione saw Severus standing at the door, scowling. Then his figure disappeared.

Severus had been in a bad mood for the last few days. Before, he had the positive impression that Hermione Granger was interested in him, and of course, she must have learned by now that this interest was mutual. He could not have been more direct. He had seen her blush when he stood near her and seen her watching him. Some days ago, something had changed. Hermione was polite as always, but she seemed to avoid looking into his eyes and seemed more distant. Only with Aurelius around was she as relaxed as ever. Aurelius…of course, this was Aurelius' fault. Why would Hermione bother with Severus if she could have Aurelius? This could also be the reason why she had not found anything useful in the books he had given her; perhaps she did not _want_ to find anything.

Severus' jaw was firmly set, his lips pressed together. _His conscience, as if!_ Aurelius himself had warned him that he was not the incarnation of good and different from anyone else's conscience. Different indeed, Severus' suspicions had been right. Obviously, Aurelius had seen Hermione and decided he wanted her himself. Maybe, Aurelius had been bound to act according to Severus' benefits in the spiritual world, but this might be different now.

_He had me fooled but not for long; I'll get rid of this conniving bastard_. Hermione might have handed him the means with her anecdote about the fabric softener – what was this stuff anyway? Perhaps this was the clue. He had not been able to send Aurelius back at once because they were so different. He would model himself exactly after Aurelius and then send him back. In either case, he had to take measures to prevent Aurelius from spending more time with Hermione. He could not do Aurelius any harm because he did not know whether this would affect himself, but he could get him _occupied_ for a while. Occupied, yes, that would do for now.


	5. Chapter 5

**AN: I hope you'll enjoy my bureaucrats from the Ministry. It's red tape all the way and I especially enjoyed writing this part because I am a civil servant myself.**

**Thanks to all reviewers and a great special thank you to my dear betas, Lady Whitehart and Trickie Woo. It's not only that my English gets better this way; it's also fun mailing to and fro. You ladies are great!**

**Thanks to all of you who were concerned about my health and wrote a review. Unfortunately, my hot flashes didn't disappear completely, so I urge you to try again.**

**I have to ask for your patience for the next chapter. The plot bunnies are still hopping around, and I have not been able to catch them yet. I promise a major development though.**

**Ah, yes, and the usual disclaimer, all of you should know by heart by now. Please repeat after me: "I do not own anything. Everything belongs to J.K. Rowling."**

Chapter 5

**Real Friends**

With Severus being busy in research and supervising Hermione, Aurelius had taken over more of Severus' classes. After having dismissed the last class, he remained in the classroom, arranging his papers. The door was still open, and a house-elf peeked in. "Excuses, Professor Aurelius, you is wanted in Professor Dumbledore's office. Urgent, this be much urgent."

Two stern looking wizards were waiting in Dumbledore's office, one of them short and podgy, the other one tall and skinny, but both of them with the air of the Ministry's self-importance around them. At the sight of Aurelius, they rose and harrumphed simultaneously. "This is Flavius Rattlesmith, and my name is Nathaniel Potbelly. It is a pleasure to meet you," the podgy wizard said in a stilted voice, not looking pleased at all. "We are here in a most important matter. We learned that you appeared during an Apparition lesson. Unfortunately, Professor Dumbledore failed…" He paused and glared at Dumbledore who only smiled in return. "…to notify us, but thankfully another person was more dutiful… Anyway, you will understand that we have to question you. The legal procedure has been discussed at the Ministry. At least, since you are a kind of, err, twin of Professor Snape, you appear to be British, though one cannot be too cautious. Without a birth certificate, well, anyway… Professor Dumbledore assured us that you are no impostor, but of course, you cannot teach here without a proper permission from the Ministry. We take it that you do not dispose of the papers proving your identity and qualifications. Correct?"

Peeking over his glasses, the tall wizard took a quill and a scroll out of his robes and continued, "You won't mind answering a few questions." He unrolled the scroll, and Aurelius groaned inwardly. i A few questions/i The scroll was at least four feet in length. After three hours of questioning, the bureaucrats' nosiness seemed to be slightly satisfied. Still, their expressions showed disapproval about the improper kind of immigration, but they bade farewell, announcing that they would send a provisional passport for Professor Aurelius immediately, probably in about three months. They also left a scroll with a detailed disclaimer of warranty the Department of Magical Transportation had issued in case that an Apparition went awry. The Ministry would probably notify Professor Aurelius of a further hearing. He would also have to undergo a medical examination at St. Mungo's to be sure that he was free of infectious diseases, and was handed another disclaimer of warranty for this examination with detailed explanation. He would be sent notification of the date and time of his appointment) immediately after the responsible department had given its blessings, which would probably take another three months. Obviously, the definition of the word i immediately /i was different in bureaucrats' English, and obviously, they did not mind that an examination three months after the fact was useless. A letter from the Minister himself informed Aurelius that, though he acted as a teacher at Hogwarts, he could not claim any payment. On the other hand, any damage done in his classes would cause legal action. The Minister advised Professor Aurelius to read the detailed information he had enclosed. After the two wizards had finally left, Aurelius leaned back in the easy chair, exhausted. Dumbledore looked at the pile of scrolls on his desk and conjured two cups of tea with a lacing of rum for him and Aurelius, murmuring that they had been confronted with the fourth Unforgivable.

The door to Severus' office clicked, and Aurelius entered, obviously exhausted. Severus looked at him, his expression blank, but Aurelius was not fooled.

"I know that it was you who set me up; what I do not know is why," Aurelius said, closing his eyes and massaging his temples when he had dropped on an easy chair.

"You know perfectly well why," Severus snarled angrily. "I saw you looking at her."

"You don't trust anybody, do you?" Aurelius asked and sighed. "No, of course you don't. Let me explain once again. I am not able to act against your interests, maybe against your wishes, but not what would benefit you. From what I have seen so far, you would not only benefit from a significant other, but you i need /i one. You would not be that grumpy if you had someone in your life." Aurelius raised his hands soothingly. "Very well, I'm sorry, but let me assure you that I am not interested in meddling with your feelings for Miss Granger. She is interested in you, and I want to help you as I promised."

"Even if she was interested in me before, why bother with me when it's so much easier to get along with the charming Aurelius?" Severus growled. "I've seen how she looks at you, while she's tense every time she works with me. You will not spend time with her any longer."

"I will grant you your wish; you may deal with her yourself," Aurelius answered companionably.

"However, her tense demeanour may have a different reason; you might reconsider your behaviour towards her."

"What do you mean?" Severus didn't understand and told Aurelius so in no uncertain terms. He had been nearly as blunt as a Gryffindor in his attempts to show Hermione that he was interested in her; it had been nothing short of embarrassing.

"Maybe she has a different view of blunt and a different opinion of courting," Aurelius replied. "I'm not so sure that the lack of criticism and the powdered Mimbulus mimbletonia you bestowed on her, are exactly the epitome of romance. Yes, she is a nice young witch, but I doubt that she is interested in me." Looking at the still scowling face of Severus, he added, "Since it is unlikely that I can convince you, you may see for yourself."

Ten minutes and a Glamour charm later, Severus headed towards his office where Hermione was still busy browsing through the textbooks.

"Good evening, Professor Aurelius," she greeted him when he swept in.

_Aurelius_ leaned against the desk and folded his arms across his chest. "Now, Miss Granger, have you found anything new?"

"No, I'm sorry, nothing so far." She smiled mischievously. "Would it be so bad for you if you were stuck with us?"

"That depends, Miss Granger, there are certain people whose company I rather enjoy," _Aurelius_ replied. "I would really appreciate if you celebrated your NEWTs with me in a few weeks."

For a moment, Hermione was at a loss for words and her face fell. This was definitely a come-on line. No, this could not be, but he looked at her as if… He had the same beautiful eyes as Severus had, and he smiled at her, warmth in his eyes. _Oh my, he has wonderful eyes, eyes to drown in. Come on, Hermione, here's your chance. Severus doesn't want you, and Aurelius is virtually Severus. _But then she blinked. He would be a substitute, well, probably a wonderful substitute, but still not the original. Aurelius would probably not be around for a very long time since Severus would try to send him back anyway. No, she would not have been able to explain why she preferred Severus. Aurelius was witty and charming and when he smiled, but… Logic had nothing to do with it. She had to tell Aurelius that she was not interested without hurting him. "Of course, Professor Aurelius; I'll have a big party, and it would be nice if you could join us."

_What is this? One moment, she looks at me, err, Aurelius,… dreamily and then, in a polite way, she tells me that she is not interested. Aurelius is right; it's not him she wants. Good! However, if she were Slytherin, she would have noticed by now that I have feelings for her. Gryffindors!. This is a major flaw that cannot be corrected_. "Thank you, Miss Granger," _Aurelius_ replied. "I'll certainly keep this in mind. Please excuse me now." With this remark, he headed for the exit, obviously absent-minded, and thinking of a blunt way to show her his feelings. He nearly cringed at this thought.

_Well done, you've offended him. He's never been so monosyllabic before. Great! Just fucking great! Now, you've managed to alienate Aurelius who was one of the few people who seemed to like you and who nearly treated you like an equal_. Hermione gritted her teeth and laid the book she held on the table with an audible thump. She looked at the pile of books. Err, why didn't they have Internet instead of letting her slave away with the textbooks? Yes, yes, she _did_i know this was not possible because the magic interferes with such things, but sometimes, it was irritating as hell. It was time for supper anyway.

When she entered the Great Hall, most of the other students were already seated and eating. Quietly, she sat down at her usual place and filled her plate with some vegetables, potatoes and a sausage. Well, it had been her usual place until a few weeks ago. Since then, she had often lived on crackers and fruit; she simply had no time for eating and appeared only now and then.

Harry, who had been talking to Seamus Finnigan about the latest Quidditch match, finally looked in her direction, curling his lips. "Oh, our genius gives us the honour of appearing. Are we good enough now, or are you simply hungry?" Then he turned his head away and continued talking without waiting for an answer from Hermione. Seamus smirked.

Hermione stared at Harry. She had thought their friendship meant something to him, but obviously, she had been wrong. Hermione had realised that their relationship had cooled down since it had been announced that she would take her NEWTs early. Why? He couldn't be jealous, could he?

Ron, seated across from her, smiled sourly. "Well, he's got a point, you know. Where have you been all the time? Yesterday, I got an essay back in Charms with a failing grade. If you were a i real /i friend, you would have revised my homework as usual. But no, all you can think of are your NEWTs."

Didn't they understand how much she had to do for her NEWTs? During the preceding years, she had helped them so much; when Harry had to prepare for the Triwizard Tournament, she had exercised with him to exhaustion. Without her help, Ron would have failed numerous tests and essays. How could he call her selfish? When she had told him that they made good friends but probably bad lovers, he had seemed to understand. Obviously, she had been wrong, and he hadn't forgiven her.

Often, it had been her spells, which had helped her comrades. They had taken everything for granted, and now, they dropped her like a hot potato. Hermione looked around into the other indifferent faces and then down at her plate. The bite in her mouth grew bigger and bigger, and she thought she would vomit. Suddenly eating didn't seem such a good idea any more. She laid her fork on the table and rose. Blinking back her tears, she headed towards the exit. Nobody called her back, nobody cared. When Hermione rushed out of the Great Hall, she nearly collided with Neville.

"Hermione, hello…" He eyed her. "Is something wrong?"

"Nothing, Neville, I'm in a hurry. See you later." _Neville, dear Neville, yes, he cares, but he seems to be the only one. _

Hermione closed the heavy oaken door of Severus' office behind her. No, she would not cry; she would move on. She didn't need any of them. She. Would. Not. Cry. Hermione sat down heavily in the easy chair and, though she continued blinking, the tears fell; she wept silently, without a sound. Three weeks ago, everything had seemed to be fine. She had been allowed to take her NEWTs early, her dream of working for Severus had come true, and she had thought she had companions who cared. Now, so many of her hopes were shattered, and this hurt.

Hermione knew it was partly her own fault that she had so few friends. She knew that she had a tendency to flaunt her abilities. She was ashamed when she thought back to her first year; no wonder that nobody had liked her and thought her a Miss-Uppity. Few people knew that Hermione had been unsure and self-conscious when she had entered Hogwarts.

Her parents were Muggles; there had never been a witch in the family tree. When her parents had found out that Hermione had magical powers, to say that they had been shocked was an understatement.

They believed in science not magic. Hogwarts contacted the Muggle parents of young wizards and witches as soon as possible and with subtle handling. In the past, mistakes had evoked heart attacks and nervous breakdowns. The Ministry was not pleased either when Muggles went to their psychologists telling them about some strange phenomenon in their kitchen. Nowadays, the witches and wizards who contacted the Muggles had to undergo a special training. Hermione had liked the little old witch who had told her and her parents about the magical world and had taken her under her wing. Samantha Willingfield had shown her books, had talked about Hogwarts and the things Hermione would have to learn. Hermione's joy had been mingled with fear that the other students would laugh at her. All the other students would know everything about the magical world, and she would not. She had begun to study every single book she could get. Samantha Willingfield had been exhilarated to find such an eager and promising young girl and had been generous to share her knowledge.

When Hermione had entered Hogwarts, she had known many things even third years didn't know. She was, however, more than studious. She had a natural talent that many of her classmates lacked. For some of the Slytherin pure-bloods, it had been a major insult that a witch of Muggle heritage could master a spell at her first attempt, whereas they had to practice for hours.

Hermione had tried to impress her classmates, at first not realising that she had achieved the contrary. After the incident with the troll in her first year, she had thought that she had at least found two real friends, and for a while, they had been. But somehow, they had drifted apart; eventually, she had accepted the fact that their relationship was rather a companionship now than a friendship. When Severus Snape had called her an insufferable know-it-all in her third year, the name had stuck. Her classmates had snickered, and Hermione had burned with shame in that particular lesson. From that moment forward, she had tried to keep a lower profile, but sometimes, the words would just burst out. Eventually, she had learned not to care that much about what people thought of her. She no longer wished to impress them and thus stopped being the proverbial overachiever. Nevertheless, Hermione's relationship with most of the other students remained distant. And now, not even the companionship with Ron and Harry remained; she was alone. Harry and Ron stuck together like glue, and obviously, she was dispensable. Hermione's silent weeping stopped, and she felt fury beginning to burn in her stomach like fire. She was done with being helpful and done with being polite. It was very good that nothing fragile was nearby, and that she would i never /i damage books.

When Severus entered his office, he noticed Hermione's angry and puffy face and the vice-like grip in which she held a book. "Miss Granger, what is the meaning of this?" he asked gruffly.

Hermione looked at him and then at the book she was still holding. "Professor Snape, I would never…"

"Not the book, Miss Granger; what has happened to _you_?" His gaze scrutinised her. Her face was pale with dark circles under her eyes, and her figure was too thin. She had lost weight she could not afford to lose. Severus did not know what had caused her tears and her anger, and probably, she would not tell him. He was not good at comforting anyway; but he would take care of her. "You are making yourself ill. I do not want people talking about me driving a student to exhaustion. You will rest now in your room and come back tomorrow morning. You will rest, not read. I will not have your exhaustion-induced carelessness causing a disaster, Miss Granger." Severus opened the door and Hermione, knowing that discussion was futile, left.

_He doesn't want people talking about him? Since when is Severus Snape interested in other people's opinion? Besides, he has never cared if students nearly scrubbed their fingers off while cleaning cauldrons for hours._ Obviously, despite his gruff remarks, Severus had been genuinely worried about her. Had she been wrong about him?

When her clock shrieked the next morning, Hermione woke with a start. She must have fallen asleep as soon as her head had touched the pillow and felt much better now. After her morning routine, she grabbed an apple from the fruit bowl and ate it hastily; then she headed towards Severus' office. It was Saturday; so he would be in his office.

When she entered, he looked up from his work and beckoned her to her usual place where he had placed a plate with sandwiches, scrambled eggs, and a collection of fruit, milk, cereals, a jug of juice, and a little glass containing another liquid on the nearby table. "Eat," he said. "I noticed that you are not eating enough. I will not tolerate any mediocre work just because you are not taking care of yourself. The little glass contains a potion that will restore your state of health; drink it." Without waiting for an answer, Severus concentrated on his papers again.

Hermione was stunned. No one but Severus had noticed how exhausted she was. Obviously, he had noticed that she had skipped meals. Then she nearly giggled. Leave it to a man to provide her with a pile of food sufficient for breakfast, lunch, and supper. Yes, he cared; the only question was how much. She would find out.

Severus felt her gaze and looked up again. _She is beautiful, even as exhausted as she is_. Then his frustration and pessimism surfaced again. _Making my intentions clear... It's probably futile and she isn't interested anyway._

For a second, Hermione thought she saw a flicker in his eyes, a male awareness of her as a female for the first time, but then his gaze seemed to be the same impenetrable mask as ever.

"Eat and go back to work, Miss Granger," he said gruffly.


	6. Chapter 6

A/N: I've warned you ahead. My maudlin side will always win and therefore, you'll not find that much humour in this chapter but more insights on the feelings of Severus and Hermione. I hope you'll enjoy it nevertheless. Please review; it's vital for us authors.

Dear Lady Whitehart and Mark Darcy, thank you again for your suggestions and the way you handle my German wordiness. Mark Darcy, you are a whiz with grammar.

Hey, have I told you that Lady Whitehart promised me a poem for my author's notes? She's working on it; so cheer her on!

Somehow, something with the formating went wrong. Okay, I hope it works for you.

* * *

Inwardly, Severus cursed himself while trying to concentrate on his papers. Of course, the whole thing was a mistake. He had no business beginning a relationship with a young woman like Hermione Granger. He was twenty years her senior, and though he was still young by age, he had not felt young for quite a number of years. He had joined the Death Eaters wishing to find friends and to take revenge on all those who had mocked him. When the full impact of what he had done had finally sunk in, he had known he would have to live with this guilt for the rest of his life -- no matter how hard he tried to atone for his sins. Even now, officially decorated as a hero of the war, he would taint her. He should not… 

Then Severus made the mistake to look up again – directly in Hermione's eyes -- and forgot all about the good reasons why he should not act toward his feelings. He could see that she was still stunned by his thoughtfulness, her eyes showing her emotions unmistakeably. Severus felt the same raw feelings that had risen in him the first time in class when he had become aware of her as a young woman rather than a student. He was nearly unable to breathe, unable to look away. _Merlin's balls! Nobody would think that I've been a spy for years. I might as well have stamped "in love" on my forehead_. Finally, he tore his gaze away.

Hermione was eating slowly, protracting the moment when she would have to resume her work. She was still shaken by his gaze and she needed time to think. Was she right? Did he really have genuine feelings for her? He certainly behaved differently; for someone who had never shown any personal interest in another person, he had been more than helpful. His usual harsh face had softened when he had told her to rest yesterday. However, Hermione was still uncertain why. It wasn't unlikely that this was only the influence of his _conscience_ Aurelius. The incident with Professor Aurelius had been somehow disturbing, but maybe he had only wanted to tease her. On the other hand, what if Aurelius and Severus were both interested in her?

Severus' voice interrupted her thoughts. "Miss Granger, when you're finished eating, you are required at the headmaster's office. An owl from the Ministry arrived today concerning your early NEWTs."

Albus Dumbledore greeted Hermione cheerfully when she entered his office. Sitting down, she glanced expectantly at the headmaster, who offered her the inevitable lemon drop, knowing fully well that she would decline.

"Yes, I know," he smiled, "I am the only one in this castle who likes these drops – save Professor Aurelius - , but offering them to all my guests entitles me to let the bill be paid by the Ministry, expenses, you know; this is a small compensation for all I have to endure from them. Anyway, the Ministry have assigned a day for your early NEWTs. Professor Snape has notified them that your potion will be ready for testing in about two weeks. You will be tested in the usual subjects and should bring a sample of the Wolfsbane Potion along with a certificate from Professor Snape that you prepared it single-handedly while under his supervision."

Dumbledore leaned back in his chair and his expression lost its usual cheerfulness. "You are the third student at Hogwarts who has been permitted to take the NEWTs early. I have no doubt that you will pass everything with great success. Professor Snape has told me you plan to pursue a career as a Healer." He frowned and peeked over his glasses. "It is not like me to meddle with other people's plans."

Hermione suppressed a snort. _Not like him? He was the incarnation of…_

The headmaster harrumphed and continued. "It is solely your choice what career you will pursue. You did not proclaim your plans in your fifth year as most of the other students did. I've always wondered what you would choose. I don't want to be a competitor to our dear Sybil, and will not bore you with visions or tea leaves, but I have a distinct feeling that you are not meant to become a Healer. The profession of a Healer requires a certain callousness that you do not possess, an ability to remain untouched by the personal fate of the patient. Don't get me wrong. I admire those wizards and witches vastly. I just think you have abilities other than that..."

Hermione blinked. "What would _you_ have advised me to choose?"

Albus Dumbledore watched her and rose. "Although I could, I will certainly not give you the advice. It is your decision only. - Miss Granger, what do you know about Callanish?"

"Callanish is a village on the West Side of the Isle of Lewis and is the location of the Callanish Stones, a cross-shaped setting of standing stones erected around 3000 and 2200 BC." Hermione replied evenly, though a tad surprised by Dumbledore's unexpected train of thoughts."

"Yes, I see, you've heard of these stones, maybe you have also heard that they form a calendar system based on the position of the moon. So far, this is common knowledge. What you may not know that during a new moon, there are power, which can enhance someone's feelings. In spending a night there, you may find out if I'm right or not." He winked, as usual his expression benign. "Maybe, these are just the thoughts of a foolish old man and you are a born Healer."

"Professor Dumbledore, It would be foolish not to consider other possibilities." Hermione replied.

"Very well then." Dumbledore stepped to a cupboard and opened a little door, removing a heavy silver ring, and handed it to Hermione. It was an old Celtic ring with the symbol of Irminsul. "At the eastern foot of an obelisk, which stands just off centre, is a small, chambered tomb. On the next new moon, you will spend the night there and you will wear this ring. If you think about your future, the ring will intensify your feelings. You will see for yourself. I'm not trying to change your decision or to force your hand. If the decision to become a Healer is wrong, you will sense or feel something, but only if you are open to other solutions. You know what self fulfilling prophesies are like."

Hermione held the ring in her palm and examined it carefully. A little red stone was embedded in the roots of the tree. Then she looked up at Dumbledore.

"Miss Granger, this ring has been in the possession of the Headmasters of this school for a long time. It is not to be used lightly. Many people would be tempted to use the ring every time they are supposed to come to a decision. They would make themselves dependent on the ring like some would with the Mirror of Erised. You may use this ring for this one occasion and must give it back to me afterwards."

"Professor Dumbledore, I am moved by your trust and I…"

"Never mind," Dumbledore replied and raised his hand. "I've known you for six years, child. Now go back. The new moon is in four days. You will need a woollen cloak; it's cold out on the island. You should also notify Professor Snape that you will leave on that day at my request. I must ask you, however, not to talk to anybody else about this ring or your journey to Callanish. There are enough foolish Muggle tourists breaking little pieces of rock off the stones and carving hearts into the obelisks. I do not want Callanish besieged by Hogwarts-students who want to know who their soul mate is. "

Deep in thought, Hermione returned to Severus' office. He was already gone, but she had not expected him to stay. Even, if he wanted to spend time with her, he would not have known when she would return.

Hermione had difficulties concentrating, though. Dumbledore had given her the ring for one purpose, to discover her future career. But his remark about soul mates… She would be a fool, if she didn't did not use the opportunity to find out more about her feelings for Severus. She had no real experience with boys and besides, Severus was definitely no _boy_. Perhaps it was only a severe crush on her part, a crush that would crash and burn the moment she started a relationship, provided that _he_ wanted one. Perhaps, it was only his brilliant mind that she admired. Although…When Hermione thought about Severus, she had his image in mind, his dark eyes, and his mouth. Since she had seen Aurelius smile and laugh, she had dreamt more than before about Severus' lips touching hers, about Severus engulfing her in his arms, his fingers caressing her face. This had been enough to send shivers down her spine. It had to be more than a crush; it _had_ to be.

Three days later in the evening, Hermione left the school and Disapparated after she had passed through the gates to Hogwarts. She was anxious about being seen and Apparated to a little hill in the shadow of a forest in walking distance to the Callanish Stones.

The Callanish Stones were magnificent. They were not as famous as Stonehenge and not as big, but Hermione was stunned. From north to south, the overall length was probably over 400 feet, from east to west about 150 feet. The stones stood on a ridge above the waters of East Loch Roag, clearly visible from both east and west. The overall layout was shaped like a distorted Celtic cross, with five rows of stones radiating from the central circle.

Carrying a thick blanket, Hermione wrapped her cloak around her and approached the Stones. She wore normal Muggle clothing; a cloak, however, would not arouse suspicion, in case somebody saw her. The sun was already sinking, and as it was rather cold out there, not a soul was to be seen. She walked towards the tomb Dumbledore had mentioned and sat down on something that might have been a bench once. Maybe, it had been more. Legend had it that local couples took engagement vows at the stones; it was also said that marriages were consummated there. Hermione giggled. This was certainly the best place to awaken to her feelings about Severus.

Hermione wrapped cloak and blanket tightly around her. Half an hour later, the sun sent its last rays over the horizon and then it was dark. It was strange; Hermione was not afraid at all. She had never liked darkness, but somehow, she felt protected here. Probably this was the effect of the ring. Hermione drew her legs to her chest and rested her head on her knees. She was sleepy, though she tried to stay awake and she thought, and she thought…

She was awake, had to be, but then again... She watched herself sitting on the bench; yes, it was her, but different. She wore the robes of a Healer, she smiled a little, but her face was sterner and her demeanour more rigid. Her frame had a slightly blue aura. When she continued watching, a second woman appeared. Again, it was her, but now the aura was red, like the stone on the ring, and she wore the robes of a …a teacher. Her expression was confident and she smiled. Was this what she should become, a teacher? She looked at herself, at the two women, who both personified what she could become. When she continued watching, the two figures joined their hands and faced her. Yes, she could become either, a Healer or a teacher; both abilities lay in her, but only when she looked at herself as a teacher did she feel warm and comfortable.

Suddenly, the image changed. She was still sitting on the bench, but she was not alone. A raven haired, dark clad figure sat close to her, his arms around her; a red aura was engulfing both of them. Hermione did not need for him to raise his head to know who he was. Black eyes were looking at her. He did not smile, but he seemed to be relaxed and comfortable. Somehow, it seemed to be…right.

Hermione awoke early in the morning to the sound of a new day and sunbeams dancing over the Callanish Stones. She stretched, still stiff from the night on the uncomfortable bench, then folded her blanket to leave. She looked around to see if some tourists were already here, but obviously she was still alone. She Apparated and when she finally arrived back on Hogwarts grounds, she still felt a little as if she came from a different universe. She headed straight to the headmaster's office. Despite the early hour, Dumbledore was already in his office, just as if he had expected her. Perhaps he had.

Professor Dumbledore gave her a friendly greeting and ushered her to a pair of comfortably overstuffed chairs near his desk. He conjured a mug of tea and a few biscuits for her. "You haven't had any breakfast, I suppose."

Hermione drank the hot tea, thankful, wrapping her fingers around the mug. "Thank you, Professor Dumbledore, for everything, not just for the tea. You knew what the result of my journey would be?"

Dumbledore smiled. "I cannot deny that my reasons for giving you the ring were not entirely unselfish and though I did not know the outcome, I was rather secure that I was right. Professor Slughorn will leave us by the end of next year, and I would be delighted to welcome you, at first as a deputy Potions mistress and then as his successor. You know that there is a course for new teachers at the Ministry, but I am sure, you will master it with, uh, dignity." At this last remark, he tried to suppress a grin, and then, sobering, he searched Hermione's face. "I take it that you are satisfied and have learned everything you wanted to know."

Hermione swallowed. Did he know that she had also learned something else? She smiled, anxious not to give herself away. "Yes, I am satisfied." She took the ring out of her pocket and handed it back to Dumbledore. "And I'm grateful for your offer. Yes, I'd like to come back here as a teacher."

When Hermione was finally back in her room, she sat down heavily on her couch, folding her arms behind her head. Everything was different now. She had a purpose, and she would pursue it. Hermione felt a strength in her she had not felt for a long time, not physically but mentally and emotionally. She would restore the former too; so first, she would have breakfast, a big one.

Hermione sat down in the Great Hall in her usual place, filled her plate with fruit, cheese, and rolls and began to eat lustily. She was not paying attention to her surroundings and flinched a little when somebody touched her arm – Harry.

"Uhm, Hermione, I need to talk to you," he said, his eyes solemn.

Hermione was surprised; Harry spoke rather loudly. She assumed he wanted to apologise, though she'd rather thought that he would want to do this in private. "Harry, you…"

Harry interrupted her, guessing her thoughts. "I insulted you in public, and I want to apologise in public. I was mean and cruel, and I hope you can forgive me."

Talk around them had died away. Hermione looked at Harry, her eyes getting moist. She covered his hand with hers. "Of course I can. We need to talk, but not here." She stood and headed towards the exit, Harry following on her heels.

They sat down at an empty table in the Gryffindor common room. Harry looked at Hermione with his brilliant green eyes. "I haven't slept properly since the incident in the Great Hall. The moment the words were out, I knew I was wrong, but I was too much of a coward to admit it. I've had some time to think about it and all the wrong reasons why I did it. I was jealous, Hermione." When he saw Hermione opening her mouth for a reply, he stopped her. "No Hermione, please hear me out. It wasn't about your early NEWTs. I've always known that you are a brilliant witch. Remus is absolutely right. No, it was that I realized for the first time that you would leave us for good. Hermione, I, uhm, I know, this is probably not the best time to tell you, but since I don't know if I'll ever…" His voice faltered. When Hermione's gaze rested quizzically on his face, he started a new attempt, not daring to look in her eyes. "After I broke up with Cho, I began to realise that in my subconscious it was you who had become important to me, but you seemed to have only eyes for Ron. When it didn't work out between the two of you, I thought I might have a chance, but you never even looked at me. I tried to keep my distance from you, lied to myself and in the end, I wasn't even your friend any more; I became as bad as Malfoy. Please forgive me, Hermione." He raised his gaze to Hermione, who had become very still.

If anything, this was not what Hermione would have expected. Harry? But she saw the truth in his eyes. She would have to tell him. "Harry, I'm glad you told me. I was so hurt because I thought that you weren't my friend any longer. I want that friendship back – Harry, I really love you, but as the brother I've never had, as a best friend. It would be wrong to pretend otherwise and to raise your hopes. Will it be enough for you?"

Harry looked at her and nodded slowly. "Probably, I've known myself that your feelings for me aren't romantic, though I hoped against hope. It will have to be enough – for now." He smiled a little weakly, and then clasped Hermione's hands. "Friends?"

"Friends!"

After Harry had left for class, Hermione remained for a little while. The whole thing was somehow surreal. Although Harry's feelings for her left a burden on her soul, Hermione was glad that she knew for certain now why Harry had acted like a prat and that she had her friend back.

Smiling, she headed for Severus' office. To be honest, she didn't want Aurelius to disappear and had the distinct feeling that Severus had changed his attitude towards his _twin_. But an assignment was an assignment; besides, it gave her the opportunity to spend some time with Severus. This time, however, he would be teaching.

His office was empty, as she had expected. She savoured the quiet and stood at Severus' desk for a moment, running her hands over the polished wood. Now that she knew that she had been right and her feelings for Severus were genuine, she was relieved. She knew, however, that the dream at Callanish had not foretold the future. It had only shown her feelings, even those buried deep in herself, and had shown her that she could be happy with Severus if he harboured feelings for her.

She would not put her foot in it and would make sure that she had not made a fool of herself. She would take her NEWTs and then… Oh, yes, she would find out, if Severus had feelings for her, real feelings, more than lust, and she already knew how.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

**Author's notes: I am surprised by myself. When I started this story I intended it to be a short one, with three chapters at the most. I was relieved when Lady Whitehart agreed to continue her beta reading when the story turned out to be much longer. Trickie Woo joined us, and here I am with chapter 7.**

**Hey, have you noticed the poem in the author's notes of chapter 6? Dear LadyWhitehart, thank you again.**

**Thank you, Mark Darcy, for your help with prepositions. English punctuation is a hard nut to crack for a German.**

* * *

Everything was different after Hermione's night at Callanish. Not only had her attitude changed, Severus no longer made her nearly jump. He didn't make snide or overbearing remarks, instead nodded calmly when she presented the results of her work. The ingredients for the Wolfsbane Potion were expensive because of the timing. Each plant had to be harvested and each slug and beetle collected, killed and prepared during a full moon. Hermione had chopped and dried everything, anxious not to waste an ounce. Unlike other potions, the Wolfsbane Potion required spells for drying, heating and cooling. This was one of the many difficulties the brewer was confronted with, but in hindsight, it had been easy for Hermione. While she had added each ingredient after the required time and number of stirs, Severus had stood beside her. She had smelt his eau de toilette and, with effort, had concentrated on the potion again. Finishing the potion, she had finally looked up and, seeing his approving nod, sighed and began to fill a vial.

Severus' demeanour was still a little stiff as if he felt uncomfortable talking to a student on a nearly equal level. Probably he did. He would presumably never like to socialise with other people, but as far as you could say this about a man like Severus Snape, he seemed to enjoy Hermione's presence.

Sometimes, after the usual hours of research, which neither of them seemed to pursue seriously any longer, he even offered tea. The first time had been a little awkward. Severus had poured tea into her cup, their fingers had brushed slightly, and both of them had looked up immediately, both of them aware of each other. She looked at his lips and wondered how they would feel on hers. She even had the insane impulse to touch his hands once more. Everything was crazy, the whole situation was. Here they were sitting, only days away from her NEWTs, and neither of them could act according to their feelings – at least she hoped that he felt the same.

Hermione hadn't told Severus yet that she would return to Hogwarts as a teacher after her NEWTs. Suddenly, she felt uncertain. Perhaps it had been a mistake to accept the offer of Professor Dumbledore. What if Severus didn't reciprocate her feelings? She would have to face him every day. But then she chastised herself. _You've never been a coward. Don't start now. _

Hermione felt at ease with the idea of being a teacher. Healers were highly esteemed in contrast to teachers. Like in the Muggle world, teachers were underpaid and were often considered lazybones. Prestige didn't mean anything to Hermione; her desire to become a Healer had emanated solely from her wish to help people. She had always been able to explain things, and she would definitely like this profession.

But why had Severus become a teacher? He liked to be alone rather than in the company of other people, he did not seem to like children, he was impatient and, though she hated to admit it, he was often cruel. Some people liked being a teacher because they liked ordering people around; some people needed the power a teacher had to make up for their inferiority complex. None of these reasons applied to Severus. She would have to ask.

"Professor Snape, may I ask you a personal question?"

Severus raised a quizzical eyebrow, but nodded.

"Why did you become a teacher?"

Severus didn't answer immediately as if still considering to reprimand Hermione for her forwardness, but then answered matter-of-factly, "Professor Dumbledore thought I would make a good teacher. " Then he added self-mockingly, "This proves without any doubt that even our headmaster is not infallible. The students would not collect his chocolate frog cards so eagerly if they knew." The corners of his mouth moved up in a slight smile.

"I don't think Professor Dumbledore was i that /i wrong," Hermione stated, looking into Severus' eyes. "There is no other school for wizardry with the standards in Potions that is comparable to Hogwarts. When I entered this school I thought Potions would be a boring subject and it turned out to be fascinating. You are the most competent teacher I know and you could be the most wonderful teacher if…" she hesitated a moment, "…you were fair and less cruel."

No lightning struck, and Severus seemed to smile even more. This was so i completely /i out of character that Hermione was somewhat nonplussed. In Potions class, she had often been forward and had earned detention many times. She had just accused him of being unfair and cruel and he didn't even chastise her for being rude. i Who are you and what have you done with Severus Snape/i

Hermione knew that Severus had never followed any student with lustful eyes. There'd even been rumours over the years that he was probably gay. The gaze that rested on her now said otherwise.

Most of the time, Hermione was positive that Severus felt exactly like she did; only sometimes a nagging doubt turned up at times. What if it wasn't interest in her but something else that had caused his different behaviour? When Severus and Aurelius had discussed what had happened just seconds before Aurelius had appeared, they had found out that Severus had execrated Harry whereas Aurelius as his conscience had tried to appease him. Was it simply the effort to model himself after Aurelius in order to get rid of him? It seemed unlikely as they got along well together now.

"Miss Granger, has your bravery cost so much of your energy that you feel unable to follow the conversation any longer?"

Embarrassed and her cheeks turning pink, Hermione felt it was best to get out before she disgraced herself completely. With a weak apology, she rose and left.

After Hermione had left, Severus sat smiling in his easy chair for a long while. He had talked to her, had joked with her and he'd felt nearly at ease. Of course, he had noticed Hermione's surprise about his changed behaviour and also her gaze lingering on his lips. At that moment, he had felt a lump in his throat. He couldn't remember when a decent woman had wanted to kiss him. Three days hence, and she wouldn't be his student any longer, three days hence, he could tell her…

No student any longer! In the pocket of her robes, Hermione kept the scroll she had received at the Ministry. In hindsight, everything had been a piece of cake. Maybe, it was the work with Severus during the last months, which had given her more confidence than she had already possessed. If she was up to i his /i standards, the NEWTs at the Ministry was easy.

Hermione looked at the castle where she had been a student for six years. In a few months, she would return once more as an assistant teacher. But for now, something else was more important. She headed for her room.

Many people underestimated Hermione and considered her a mere bookworm; they'd simply not understood that the knowledge she found in books, were basics for things she wanted to do in future. Hermione had experimented and when had invented her first new spell, her friends had not believed her but thought, she'd read it somewhere. Thenceforward Hermione had not told anyone about her efforts, and she was glad that no one knew about the special spell she was about to use. She had linked invisible ink to a love spell. The connection to a special person was a hair like in Polyjuice. Severus loved books, and a book would be the means by which Hermione would find out whether Severus harboured feelings for her.

She had been glad to find this rarity it in a little book shop in Hogsmeade. The leather cover was worn and damaged, some pages wrinkled and stained due to water spotting, but this was insignificant. Obviously, the shop owner had not known what treasure he had sold her. Few people would have. The book was about ninety years old, the author probably only known by Potions addicts like Severus. Even, if it turned out that he didn't reciprocate her feelings, he had deserved this rarity for all he had done for her. Without him, she would have never developed this love for Potions. His trust in her abilities to brew the Wolfsbane Potion had moved her beyond words.

But what she really hoped was that he would be able to read the few lines she would write in the book just beneath the dedication. If Severus felt nothing for her, he would only read the dedication in which she thanked him for his tutoring, but these additional lines were not visible for anybody, not even for him, unless… Her hands were shaking a little while she was writing into the book:

_Dear Severus!_

_If you are able to read this, I will be very happy. It will be proof that my feelings are not one-sided. I will explain everything. Please meet me in the Room of Requirement at 10 pm._

_Hermione_

She sealed the addendum with her spell and it vanished before her eyes. Hermione wrapped the book and walked towards Severus' office. She knocked on the heavy oaken door, and after a short moment, Aurelius opened and let her in. He gave Hermione a friendly smile. "I take it that you have been successful," he said. "How many _Outstandings_ did you manage?"

Though being a tad nervous, Hermione beamed at Aurelius. Yes, she had been very successful. Matching Severus' grades was something of which she could be proud. Until she accomplished that feat, Severus had been the most accomplished alumnus of Hogwarts. She handed Aurelius the scroll she had received from the Minister himself. Aurelius cocked an eyebrow approvingly. Noticing her searching gaze, he added, "Well, you will have to show your certificate to Severus when he returns. He was called away some minutes ago. Two students of his house seem to have hexed each other. Just sit down."

Hermione hesitated. Maybe she should just leave the book here. Perhaps she'd only had an overactive imagination and Severus did not feel anything for her. "Professor Aurelius, I wanted to leave this gift for Professor Snape. Would you be so kind to give it to him as soon as he comes back? I have to hurry because I am planning a little celebration with my friends in Hogsmeade. I'll be back tomorrow to thank Professor Snape personally before I leave."

Aurelius was shocked. He had been so certain that Hermione harboured feelings for Severus, but he seemed to have been wrong. "Of course," he said slowly. "I'll give it to him." With a polite smile that did not reach his eyes he took the book and saw her off.

Hermione didn't notice anything. She hurried to the Great Hall just in time for dinner to spread the good news and to invite them her celebration. Instead of the big party she had originally planned, it would be a small one. The events with Harry, or rather the reaction of her classmates, had been an eye opener. Some days after Harry, Ron had also apologised, but up to now, Hermione did not know whether he meant business or not. As for the others - why should she invite all these people who had shown very clearly that they were not interested in her in the least? So a small party, consisting of Harry, Ron, Neville and Ginny, met at The Three Broomsticks. Although she laughed with her friends and talked about an intended vacation, Hermione was distracted. Had Severus returned to the office by now, had he unpacked the book, had he read the dedication, had he…?

"Earth to Hermione, earth to Hermione, are you there?" Harry teased when Ron, Neville and Ginny had left the table for a round of Wizard's Darts.

"Sorry, Harry, I just thought about tomorrow. I will have to pack my things and return to my parents. Everything will be different from now on."

"When will we see you again?" Harry asked, his voice different now, his green eyes intense. Hermione understood what he really meant. i When will I see you again/i

"Harry, I'll be back in a few months, but please do understand…" Then she bit her lip. "Don't make fun of me and please don't tell the others class mates, but I have changed my plans. I will come back as an assistant teacher. I'll take some extra courses and I'll be back after the summer break. Harry, I have to go in a few minutes, but I'll send an owl as soon as possible."

Half an hour later, Hermione finally managed to leave. Ron, Ginny and Neville had been more than surprised about Hermione's new plans. She left after a lot of laughter and teasing. Hermione smiled. The jokes about teachers were nearly the same as those in the Muggle world. Hermione hurried back. She changed and then headed towards the Room of Requirement.

The quarrel between the two students was easily settled, and Severus walked back to his quarters. When he entered, he found Aurelius already waiting for him and immediately sensed that something was wrong.

"Miss Granger was here in your absence," Aurelius said lowly. "But it seems that we were both wrong. She brought a gift for you and will thank you personally tomorrow before leaving. That's what she said at least. " He took the small package from the desk in order to hand it to Severus.

Severus' heart sank. He should have known; why would a young woman like her be interested in him? She'd probably bought a book and written a few polite words. Severus turned his back to Aurelius. "Please unwrap the parcel for me."

Aurelius removed the paper, examining the gift. "It's an old Potions book; in fact it is a very..."

"It doesn't matter. Open it! I take it that there is a dedication," Severus' cold voice cut in.

Aurelius opened the book and harrumphed. "Yes, there is. I am sorry, but besides a dedication addressing you as "Dear Professor Snape" and thanking you for your willingness to supervise her, there is nothing else." Aurelius drew his wand and tapped the book, but he already knew that he wouldn't find anything.

"Put the book on the shelf and then leave me alone, if you please," Severus said without looking in Aurelius' direction.

Aurelius left the room silently, for once at a loss for words.

Had she been wrong? Her watch indicated a quarter past ten and Severus had not turned up. Still she hoped. What if Aurelius had not been able to hand him the book yet? Hermione waited until eleven o'clock and finally headed back to her room. Unless something unexpected had happened she had to face the fact that Severus' behaviour had had nothing to do with real feelings for her.

A restless night left Hermione tired and worn. She was not hungry and only packed her things, then headed towards Severus' office. Aurelius opened the door.

"You wanted to see Professor Snape?" he asked.

Hermione nodded.

"I'm afraid he's out," Aurelius replied. He didn't explain or invite her in, leaving her standing in front of the door.

Hermione was confused. Aurelius was friendly enough, but something was amiss. He had always been cordial, but today… "Uhm, I am leaving now and …Have you given him the book?"

"He told me to thank you for the book and the dedication and to wish you the best for your future career," Aurelius answered. Of course, Severus had said nothing of that sort; of course, Severus was not out either, but was sitting in the same easy chair in which he had most probably spent the night. But why bother telling her? Hermione Granger was not responsible for Severus' and his own false assumptions, and Severus would probably breathe fire and brimstone to hide his hurt if he faced her right now.

Hermione nodded slowly. "I, uhm, please thank him in my name again, Professor Aurelius. Thank you for your kindness too."

Aurelius watched her leaving. Why had she looked so weary? Then he dismissed the thought. She'd probably partied too hard with her friends.

When Aurelius closed the door and turned around, Severus rose from his easy chair facing Aurelius. "I've come to a decision. It's time to leave Hogwarts and to turn a new page. I will go into research and will open a business for rare potions. I don't see the necessity of sending you back to your world any longer; I would rather like you to come with me." His voice sounded calm and composed and didn't indicate anything about his inner turmoil.

Aurelius knew that Severus would not want to talk about Hermione Granger, not now, perhaps not ever. He needed a new task, and this was a good one. "Yes, this is a good idea," he replied and nodded in agreement. "I'll let the house elves bring us breakfast to your rooms and we'll talk it over."

Half an hour later, the two wizards were sitting at Severus' desk, writing down what they would need, and calculating the necessary sum to begin a business. "My savings at Gringotts will not suffice," Severus said after a while. "We will not need to rent a house since I own an old one at Spinner's End; but we'll have to buy a whole new stock of ingredients at once and I'll have to sell some of my artefacts and some of my books."

Some of the specimens floating around in the jars were Severus' property. Severus fetched a little wooden box from his cupboard and opened it. His mother had willed him some heirlooms, most of them of Celtic origin, nothing he was attached to, and since he would never marry and have offspring, nothing he would keep. Some of them were rather valuable and would bring good money.

Aurelius got up and rummaged through the shelves. "There are some valuable books, which you won't need that much. It's _Czynki's Guide Through Potions_; there is also a double exemplar of _Healing Potions_ by Magnanimus Green and another…" He held several copies out to Severus who nodded. Aurelius fetched a large box and piled the books, jars and box of heirlooms in it. "Okay, that will do," he said and was about to close the box when Severus handed another book to him. Aurelius looked up. "But that's…"

"Yes, I know. That's the book that Miss Granger gave me. But I don't want to be reminded of my foolishness. Sell it," Severus answered, his voice thick.

Aurelius sighed. He did not approve, but he could understand that Severus wanted to get rid of the book.

The next morning, Severus gave Albus Dumbledore notice that he would leave Hogwarts at the end of the school year. Dumbledore eyed him warily. He knew there was more to Severus' notice of termination than the plans to open a business, but he also knew that it was futile to ask him.

The last months of the school year were hell for the students. Even those who had thought they had experienced Severus at his worst were soon proven wrong. Obviously, the short time when he had been nearly fair was over. Aurelius did not seem to be able to influence him any longer. Gryffindor lost more points than ever in the history of Hogwarts, and even the generosity of the other teachers could not make up for it. Everybody breathed a sigh of relief when Aurelius and Severus finally packed their things and left.

Two weeks later, a little ad was published in the _Daily Prophet_ :

_**SNAPE & SNAPE Potions Ltd.,** fine and rare potions_, _order by owl only_i


	8. Chapter 8

**A.N.: In this chapter, the main focus will be on Severus. However, Aurelius is not forgotten; wait for the last chapter.**

**Dear Mark Darcy and Lady Whitehart, thank you again so much for all the time you take for revising my story.**

* * *

**What is it about money and success?**

"Silence, finally." Aurelius sighed and closed the door, turning to Severus. Then he smiled. "Fascinating, isn't it? From underpaid teachers – especially me, since I didn't get any salary – to successful businessmen within a few months. However, I don't enjoy the company of these sycophants any more than you do." Then he chuckled. "Well, maybe sometimes; there are advantages in being able to insult them and being admired for ones brilliance and irony."

The two men had just returned from an official dinner they had been asked to attend. Wizards who had overlooked Snape when he was a teacher at Hogwarts and a man with a somehow tainted past – despite the Order of Merlin - were eager to get acquainted with him now. Severus didn't care whether he was liked or not and despised most of the people he met, but he was an enterprising man, a very successful enterprising man now.

Within a short time, Severus' and Aurelius' business had turned out to be a success. To say it flourished would have been an understatement: The two Snapes didn't just make big money; they became rich and moved from the old house at Spinner's End to a luxurious mansion with a state-of-the-art lab. From an insiders' tip for good potions in the first few weeks, their firm developed to a _must know_i within only six months. After having ordered rare and complicated potions, even the sceptics were impressed.

The big seller of _SNAPE & SNAPE POTIONS Ltd._ was a novel anti aging potion for the skin. The two Snapes knew that in order to do serious research they needed money, a lot of money.

At first, some of the old-established wizards looked down their nose at something so brassy like a potion for the skin -- until they discovered the advantages when they looked at their wives. And, well, although it was common knowledge that men didn't need anti aging potions because of their natural beauty, they began to apply it themselves -- of course only to please their wives.

Even many students seemed to have forgotten that Snape had been the most hated teacher at Hogwarts, that no one had ever found a good trait in him. They began to collect chocolate frog cards with Severus' likeness. However, not all of his former students shared this enthusiasm. Seeing two of his classmates with a picture of Snape taken from the monthly "Businesswizard", and even some girls with his picture, Ron barked, "Have you all gone crazy or what? He has always been a bastard, and now he is a rich bastard. He still looks like a bag of smashed assholes." Then he stomped off.

Witches who had marked him as ugly and cruel before now found out that his features were sexy and that he was powerful and witty. Like shortly after the fall of Voldemort, he had his pick of women, and this time, he decided that it did not matter if a witch lacked something in the brain department. His two attempts to find true love with Lily and Hermione had been failures, and he had put any wish of real love behind him. Only at times, when he was sitting in his rooms in the evening, the face of a certain student appeared before his inner eye. He always banished the image quickly from his thoughts. Aurelius was his friend and business partner, he had more money than he could count, his sexual needs were satisfied as were his intellectual interests. What else could he want?

Aurelius on the other hand enjoyed research and making money. His evenings he mostly spent at home with a good book and a glass of wine in his study, or talking to Severus with whom he had become friends. Unlike Severus, Aurelius didn't date much. He was nearly content with his life; something was amiss, but he could not put his finger on it.

After her NEWTs, Hermione had spent a short vacation with her parents. They had been proud to hear that Hermione had finished school early, but a tad disappointed that their daughter would stay in the wizarding world permanently.

Hermione attended the i International Preparation Course for Teachers /i provided by the Ministry. Three young wizards and another young witch from abroad wasted three months that would have been better training if they had spent the time on a beach drinking margaritas. The topics of these courses had been strictly confidential and the little house where the courses were _taught_i was in a secluded area.

Hermione had even signed a paper that requested her not to utter a syllable of anything she learned. As if! She would be too ashamed to tell anyone. Hermione had come to the Ministry with high expectations; these courses, however, were utterly ridiculous. She did not learn a single new spell or concoction of a rare potion. Instead, they were handed pamphlets like _The Proper Garments of a Teacher_ , _How do Deal with the Ministry's Property_ and had to endure endless lectures about _behaviour worthy of a teacher_ or _cooperation with the Ministry_ . Then again, the scroll she received afterwards was impressive, thick parchment with the Minister's seal on it, and the signatures of two high executives. This scroll certified that she was now qualified to be a teacher.

Still, Hermione did not know how she would deal with Severus. She was glad that she had not had a fool made of herself and that he did not know anything about her feelings. She would have to make do with reality. He would be a colleague, an appreciated colleague, but nothing else. Life had to go on. With these thoughts, she knocked at the door of Professor Dumbledore's office and entered when she heard his voice. A tall young witch was already sitting in an easy chair and rose when Hermione stepped in. She was beautiful and had a mane of red hair tumbling down her back that nearly engulfed her like a cloak. Her robes were of a dark blue, simple but stylish. Her face seemed somehow familiar and then Hermione remembered that the young witch had been several years ahead of her.

"Ah, Miss Granger, Hermione," Professor Dumbledore greeted her friendly. "I am glad you have finished the, uh, courses at the Ministry and will join our staff. May I introduce Rufaria Winchester, who will succeed Severus Snape as the Defence Against the Dark Arts professor? Professor Winchester, this is Miss Granger who is joining the staff as a deputy Potions Mistress this year. Next year, after Professor Slughorn's retirement, she will take his place."

The young woman held out her hand; her smile was natural and her handshake no-nonsense. "I'm pleased to meet you."

For a few seconds, Hermione was too stunned to greet the new professor properly; then she regained some of her composure. "Likewise, Professor Winchester."

Professor Dumbledore noticed her still startled expression. "You didn't know then?

"No," Hermione replied slowly. "I didn't know. I left the day after my NEWTs and havn't had any contact with anyone from Hogwarts since then. "

"Well, Hermione, we'll have to discuss this later on, but for now, I want to introduce both of you to the students."

Hermione had little opportunity to think much about Severus' reasons for leaving Hogwarts so sudden, too tight was her schedule. She had the right touch with the little ones and liked her new job. She was accepted by her colleagues and everything could have been wonderful if not for a certain former Potions Master. Over the next few weeks, she read several articles in the "Daily Prophet" and the "Wizarding Bourse" about the new firm of the two Snapes. _He looks good_ she mused, eying the pictures of the two smiling Snapes in the newspaper. i Obviously, he's content now, and he's gorgeous when he smiles. And obviously, he knows/i she mused angrily, noticing Severus' smug facial expression. _Enough of this!_ She shook her head and folded the newspaper forcefully.

Hermione entered her favourite bookshop. Browsing through the shelves was one of the things she liked to do at her free weekends. She liked book stores, especially old book stores. The smell was distinctive in way that pleasantly combined ink, leather bindings, and mustiness. An elderly witch emerged from a back room, smiled warmly and disappeared again. Hermione was a regular customer, coming here very often and browsing through the boxes and stacks of books. Miss Moneypenny was nice, but tidiness was not her forte. She bought books in a large number and piled them everywhere. Hermione sat down on a large cushion in a niche, fetching a box with her. When she took the third book out of the box, she froze. This was another copy of the book she had bestowed on Severus. Hermione opened it…No, it was not another copy; it was the very same book. He'd sold it and hadn't even bothered to get the dedication off. Tears sprang to Hermione's eyes. She had thought of him as an honourable man she would always be proud to know, but obviously, he had laughed at her present and had gotten rid of it at the first opportunity. His nice behaviour had been an act, probably caused by Aurelius' admonitions. He was not worthy of her tears. Hermione wiped her face fiercely and got up, clutching the book in her hand. She bought it back and left the little shop much earlier than as she had intended.

That night she sat in her quarters sipping an expensive red wine, which she had planned to drink on a special occasion. And a special occasion it was! Good riddance to romantic illusions! With Severus – it was time to call him Snape in her thoughts – she had felt the proverbial butterflies in her stomach and telltale tingles on her skin. Obviously, she was a lousy judge of character. When she had acknowledged that her former professor did not reciprocate her feelings, she had continued to like him despite his often abysmal behaviour. Snape had done the right thing in the war, but she looked right through this now. He'd probably only been driven by a bad conscience and otherwise there was i nothing /i likeable about him. He must have known that she had chosen the book carefully and that it might have cost a small fortune for a student, but nevertheless, he had sold it. This made his appreciation very clear indeed! Speaking of clear, the wine - oops, this was the second bottle now - made her think more clearly. The next time, Harry wanted to see her, she would accept, and if it led to more – it might as well. She would put the whole unpleasant episode behind her and would move on, damn Snape to hell!

The next morning found Hermione with the worst hangover she had ever had in her life. Granted, it was her first one, but she could not imagine a worse one. After a hot shower and several cups of coffee, she felt a little better. No man, especially not Snape, was worth such a hangover. She would never drink wine in her life again. She would, however, banish all thoughts of Snape and send Harry an owl asking him out the next weekend. She was a liberated witch, why shouldn't she ask him out instead of waiting for an invitation like a Victorian maiden?

Harry didn't ask any questions, and Hermione was grateful. His green eyes were warm and friendly as always. Soon, they spent most of their spare time together. She enjoyed his company, she liked him, and she didn't push him away when he took her in his arms and kissed her one evening. It was a gentle, nearly chaste kiss, and it wasn't unpleasant. "Harry, I…"

Harry silenced her with a finger across her lips. "Ssh, you needn't say anything. I will not rush you. I sensed that there was someone else when you told me that you had no romantic feelings for me, but I can wait. I'll take you home now."

Sometimes, her conscience told Hermione that she was being unfair, that she didn't feel for Harry what he expected and probably never would. Perhaps she was wrong, and those feelings would emerge someday. Or perhaps she was wrong to hope for i love /i at all and this kind of relationship was safer in the long run.

Their relationship intensified over the next months. She liked to kiss him and to be held. He was a kind and good-looking young man and had matured over the past months. He even began to do his homework regularly and discussed some books with her, though she noticed that books would never become his passion. Soon, "Witch Weekly" spread the newest gossip of the two heroes of the war being lovers.

"I'd like to order ten cans of cockchafers, eight cans of potato beetles, a pound of powdered silica, three pounds of Abyssinian shrivelfig and three gallons of belladonna for Hogwarts, but I'd like to look at a few samples myself. Your last delivery was not up to your usual quality." In order to attenuate her criticism, Hermione smiled at the saleswitch. Usually, Hogwarts ordered by owl, but Hermione was glad to walk through Hogsmeade sometimes and to look at the premises. Besides her shopping for Hogwarts, she had decided to have some new robes made and to buy some presents for her parents to take with her when she visited them the following weekend. Yes, a little chess-set would do nicely.

"Miss Granger!" A deep male voice cut through her musings.

Turning around, Hermione looked at Aurelius. "Professor Aurelius..." Then she stopped. "Well, I'm not certain how to address you now," Hermione said politely. Her good mood had disappeared completely. It was not Aurelius' fault that he looked so much like Severus, but nevertheless...

Aurelius eyed her. What was wrong? He had heard her friendly voice before and now she sounded wary at the least. He pretended not to have noticed. "I see. Well, since I taught Potions at Hogwarts some months ago and you are the deputy Potions Mistress at Hogwarts now, I think it is not inappropriate for you to call me by my first name."

"Thank you…Aurelius," Hermione answered. She did not know how to decline without being rude. Probably, she wouldn't see him that much, so it didn't matter. Perhaps, he didn't know that Severus had sold the book. Then it struck her; of course, Aurelius knew. He was Severus' conscience, and he and Severus were close. She frowned and felt anger rising.

Sensing her uneasiness, Aurelius continued, "Well Hermione, I wish you a good day. I will tell Severus that I've met you and…"

Suddenly Hermione could not bare it any longer and blew up, her face becoming harsh and her voice sharp. "I'm tired of all this polite crap. I know just how much Severus Snape appreciates me, on a scale from one to ten, it's a zero. By random, I found the book I bought for him in a little antiques book store. I bought it back as a constant reminder of how foolish I was. At least, I'd always thought that he loved books and would keep this rarity, unless he didn't recognise its value which hat I doubt. Once I thought that he was a great man and that you as his conscience could help him to overcome his past. But obviously, I was wrong and obviously, you are not much of a conscience."

Aurelius was stunned. What did this outburst mean? This was more than being offended by the sale of the book, this was hurt. "We sold several books to start a business," he said slowly. "Perhaps, I might have convinced Severus not to sell the book if he had actually held it in his hands, but this is futile to discuss now.."

Hermione paled. "But you said…You told me that he…He, he didn't read the dedication himself?" she stammered.

"No," Aurelius answered. "I read it to him. Why is this important?"

_He has never seen the writing. He has never even had the chance to read what I've written. But even if I've meant anything to him then, it's too late now. If only a small percentage of what I've read in the newspapers is true, he has women crawling all over him by now. What shall I do anyway? Appear at his doorstep, wave the book in front of him and ask him to read it again?_ A mirthless smile curled Hermione's lips. "Never mind! It's nothing. Have a good day…Mr. Snape." Without looking back, Hermione headed towards the exit, not caring what Aurelius or the other customers in the shop, who had eyed the incident curiously, might think of her. Without looking back she Disapparated.

Aurelius returned to the mansion, deep in thoughts. He lingered at the doorstep to the lab until Severus looked up and eyed him enquiringly.

"You went out to buy some ingredients and as far as I can see, you've bought nothing. What happened?"

"I've met Miss Granger," Aurelius replied without further explanation.

Severus' face darkened. "So what? Did you congratulate her on her new lover?"

"You're still not over her, are you?" Aurelius replied calmly and added at the sight of Severus' scowl, "I don't say this to provoke you, but the encounter was rather particular. There's something rotten in the state of Denmark as they say." Noticing Severus' lack of understanding, he murmured, "You should work on your Muggle general education." And then, a little louder, "Well, she found the book she had bought for you in a little shop and bought it back. She blew up, insulted me, and was completely shell-shocked when she found out that you didn't read the dedication yourself but had it read by me. Why would that be important? I remember examining the book; there was no invisible ink. She didn't bother to explain but rather bolted from the shop. She seemed hurt, and I've never seen her behave like this. Her behaviour suggested that she doesn't want to talk to either of us again."

Severus eyes narrowed and he pinched his nose, beginning to pace. After a while, he looked at Aurelius. "We need the book."


	9. Chapter 9

A/N: I realise that Severus might be a little mellow in this chapter, but please consider that he's changed a lot since Aurelius has appeared in his life. Since this is a more humorous story and not drama, I like to portray him this way.

Dear Lady Whitehart and Mark Darcy, thank you for helping me through this story. It has been fun for me, and I hope for you as well.

* * *

Yes, they needed the book, but the question was how to obtain it. If they had still been teachers at Hogwarts this would not have been a problem, but now their appearance at the school would raise too many questions. Since Hermione didn't seem willing to talk to them, they needed help, they needed someone who was willing to steal the book.

Cricky hummed to herself while cleaning Hermione Granger's rooms. She liked Miss Granger, oh yes. She had always liked her though she still shook her head about Miss Granger's former notion to i liberate /i the house-elves. Being given clothing was the ultimate insult to a house-elf. Fortunately, these foolish days were over, and Cricky was happy to decorate the rooms for Miss Granger. She was no common housemate –elf, but left flowers on her desk and pink embroidered doilies on table and nightstand. Cricky frowned in confusion at the thought why Miss Granger seemed to misplace the doilies so often, but anyway, some months hence, and the mistress would be i Professor /i Granger and she, Cricky, would be important once again. Her status had decreased when Professor Snape had left Hogwarts; Cricky had become a common house-elf rather than the personal elf of a professor. Nobody had known how nice Professor Snape really was and Professor Aurelius… Cricky sighed again. She was so glad to be able to serve him again. He had actually asked her to do him a favour. She, Cricky, could do the famous Mr. Snape a favour. Unfortunately, she could not tell anybody about it; this task required the strictest confidence. He needed a book from Miss Granger's shelf and didn't want to ask her herself, but as Cricky would see, there was a dedication for Mr. Snape in the book. Besides, he only wanted to look up something and then give it back. She didn't do anything wrong, did she? Miss Granger would not miss the book anyway; Cricky finally found it in the rear of a seldom used book-shelf.

Severus closed the door behind the excited house-elf who had nearly burst with self-importance. He had not wanted to show his impatience and had withstood the mindless chatter of Cricky for over twenty minutes.

Severus sat down at his desk, turned the book in his hands and examined it carefully. Outside, there was nothing unusual. He opened it and saw the dedication Aurelius had read to him, but then he froze. Below the dedication, she had written something else, something Aurelius had not seen. _Dear Severus… _ She had had feelings for him and she had waited for him in the Room of Requirement…

Noticing Severus' shocked demeanour, Aurelius took the book from his hands. Frowning, he read the dedication and looked inquiringly at Severus.

"She's always been clever, hasn't she?" Severus laughed, but there was no mirth in his voice. "She had written something that only I am able to read, no one else. She meant to meet me, Aurelius, and I wasn't there. The next morning, she came to make sure that I had gotten the book. To add to her mortification, I even sold it, and now it's too late to do anything about it. I've blown it." Defeated, he closed his eyes and leaned back in his chair, his head on the backrest.

Aurelius stood motionless. "Severus, we don't know whether it's too late," he said finally.

"Aurelius, she's moved on. You've read the newspapers. The headline in "Witch Weekly" was "Wedding bells for two heroes of the war?" Severus replied in a flat voice.

Aurelius grinned. "I thought you'd rather be caught dead than to admit that you've read this, err, magazine. And you should know what to believe of the stuff written in the papers. If I recall correctly, you were described as a knight in shining armour after the fall of Voldemort."

Severus cast him a killing glance and opened his mouth but was interrupted by his twin.

"No, I don't want to mock you, Severus. This was only a precaution before you began to brood to much, dear friend. I know the reason why you read it, Severus. No need to go off. Anyway, maybe there are two reasons you might consider." Aurelius paused and then asked provocatively, "You don't want Potter, of all people, win her hand and… we've never been cowards, Severus, have we?" The glint in Severus' eyes showed him that he had pushed the right button.

"You're not much of a conscience, Aurelius," Severus said after a while. "If it's love between her and Potter, I wouldn't destroy this."

Aurelius sobered instantly. "I know you won't, Severus, neither of us would," he said solemnly. But then he grinned again. "Funny, Miss Granger has formed the same view of me."

"There are times when I don't like you at all; you are a patronizing, overbearing son of a bitch," Severus growled.

You know, Severus," Aurelius smiled, "I'm still your conscience, a very special conscience as I might say, and now, since I am here in the flesh, it is a little harder for you to overlook me."

During the following weeks, Severus followed Hermione surreptitiously as often as possible when his schedule allowed it. He watched her from afar, and of course, she didn't notice him; he had not been a spy for years for nothing.

After that fateful evening months ago when she had left the book for him, he had lived in denial, had pretended that he was over her, that she was too young for him anyway and that he wouldn't want her now that she was with Potter. Oh boy, had he been wrong! How he envied Potter who brushed away some strands of hair from her face. She wore her hair down. Loose and unconfined by pins or ornaments. It had grown and now hung down to her waist. Her robes were of a dark, rich red that suited her. But everything would suit her, he mused. He caught a glimpse of her delicate face and saw her laughing at something Potter said. He would not lie to himself any longer. Aurelius had been right; he still wanted her. It was hard to see her with Potter, hard to see him embracing her, but he also noticed that it was Potter, who played the active part in showing affection. Maybe there was hope.

Severus knew that he needed help. Hermione didn't leave Hogwarts very often and a letter wouldn't do. He winced at the thought that he, Severus Snape, had to ask for help and especially i who /i he had to ask.

Albus Dumbledore smiled benignly at his colleagues. "It is a pleasure to announce that Severus and Aurelius Snape have agreed to join us for a special dinner here in Hogwarts to meet their former colleagues and the new ones." At this he nodded towards Hermione and Rufaria Winchester. "Since it is kind of a festive affair, I suggest you wear dress robes and... "

The rest of Dumbledore's explanations went by in a blur for Hermione. Severus! She would see him again.

Severus looked… stunning, clad in elegant robes of the finest wool. He cut a marvellous figure. Still, he could not be called handsome, but somehow… He had filled out a bit and was not as thin as he used to be. His raven hair was longer now and reached past his shoulders, smooth and silky. Even his teeth were not as crooked as they used to be. Onyx eyes gazed at hers and he smiled confidently. i Too confidently/i Hermione thought. _Obviously, he's very satisfied with himself and thinks that I am impressed. Well, I am not. Hermione, you're a liar, you are impressed_. She wouldn't show it, however, and raised her chin belligerently, nodding only curtly. "How do you do, Mr. Snape?" She knew she was on the verge of being rude, but she couldn't help herself.

"How do you do, Miss Granger?" Severus replied, a glint in his eyes, which was probably amusement, and held out his hand.

Hermione knew she could not refuse without raising suspicions. As far as everybody knew, she had been on good terms with Severus Snape, well, as far as anybody could have been on i good /i terms with him. She had been the only student he had ever agreed to supervise and she had probably also been the only one who had defended him when other students had complained about him. When she felt his hand close around hers it was as if an electric jolt had hit her. He gazed into her eyes with an expression she could not read. Had he felt it too? Hastily, she withdrew her hand, aware of the slight blush that had crept into her cheeks. Hermione was relieved when Rufaria Winchester was introduced to Severus and turned away.

The dinner could have been pleasant if not for Hermione's inner turmoil and the constant view of Severus. She was seated opposite him and was forced to face him almost constantly. Hermione tried to concentrate on her food or chatted with her neighbours at the table, but ever so often when she looked in Severus' direction, she felt his gaze. i Why is it that I still feel topsy-turvy where he's concerned/i Hermione had read everything that had been written about him during the past months, had seen his pictures in the newspapers and in magazines, beautiful witches hanging at his arm. He had changed, definitely changed. Severus was, yes, he actually was quite charming. The dark, brooding man was gone and had obviously been replaced by a playboy. Severus' former colleagues were delighted by his changed demeanour, but Hermione decided that she was not. The more Hermione thought about it the angrier she became. People said that money spoiled the character; other people said that it only showed how you really are. i Now, he's sort of flirting with me. But probably, he flirts with every female now and is only too used to succeed in this area, too. I idealised this man for years and obviously, I've never really known him. He's turned out to be as superficial as they come. /i

From the beginning of the evening, Severus had looked Hermione time and again. She wore formal dress robes, simply cut and without any lacing but of fine, shimmering cloth. She did not need a low cut cleavage to be beautiful. Although she had a delicate figure and still looked her eighteen years, her maturity was obvious to everybody. Severus blinked once and noticed that nobody had watched Hermione but him. To the other witches and wizards, she was simply a colleague. He had noticed the slightest trembling in her hand and how she looked at him now and then. He tried to talk to her during dinner, even paid her compliments, but she was rather monosyllabic and only answered his questions, avoiding his gaze if possible. The evening didn't turn out as he had hoped. She would have noticed his intrusion if he had tried Legilimency on her, but his skills allowed him to sense her emotions. Severus felt her defiance. What had gone wrong?

Finally, dinner was over, all pleasantries exchanged and the guests took their leave. Hermione pretended to be occupied.

She was deep in her thought when she finally left the dining room. It had been hard and eye-opening to see Severus again. Until the encounter with Aurelius, Hermione had been convinced that she had moved on. That day, she had admitted to herself that she still hurt, and after this evening, she knew that her relationship with Harry should never have overstepped a certain line. She had never felt like she'd been hit by a lightning when he touched her. It was time to end this relationship. It was absolutely illogical that she wanted Severus even now that she knew that he was not the man she had thought him to be. The feelings for Severus were unwanted but she could not deny them. Hermione felt relieved now that she had come to a decision and headed towards Harry's room. He was Head Boy in the seventh year and had a room of his own. It was best to get it over with.

Whereas Aurelius had left, Severus was waiting, hidden in the shadows of the hallway, when Hermione came out of the dining room. He would try to talk to her in private; maybe this would make a difference. Severus was about to make his presence known when he saw that Hermione was not heading toward her own rooms but the boys' dormitories. When he followed her, he saw her knocking on Potter's door and being let in. Well, that answered his question, didn't it? His impression about the relationship between her and Potter had been wrong; obviously, she had moved on. Silently, Severus left.

"Hermione!" Harry beamed at Hermione, but sobered instantly when he saw her facial expression. "Is anything wrong?" he asked, ushering her to the little sofa and sitting down next to her.

Hermione swallowed and looked down, shifting nervously on the couch. "Harry, you know, I like…no…Harry, I have realised…" She looked up when Harry covered her hand with his.

"Maybe I know what's wrong," he said. "I've felt for a few weeks now that you were distracted, nervous, preoccupied, I don't know." Abruptly, he got up and paced. "I'd like to know…Is there someone else, Hermione?"

"No, Harry, at least not in the sense you are thinking of. There was a time when I was i thinking /i of someone else, but there was never a relationship. It turned out to be…He didn't have feelings for me. I'm sorry, Harry, it's so stupid to talk to you about someone else. I like you so much, and you're good-looking, you're kind and caring, everything a woman could dream of, but…" She drew a deep breath. "I do not have the feelings for you I should have. It's neither fair to you nor to me. You deserve someone who's really in love with you and I have realised I am not she. At first, I thought that maybe my expectations were sort of… romance-novel-like. Harry, I can't explain, but I want…" She burst into tears and then felt Harry's arm around her. Looking up, she clearly saw the disappointment in his face but also the wish to comfort her.

He didn't say anything for a while, only held her, and finally said. "Hermione, it's probably best if you return to your room now. I'm not made of stone and I have to sort things out myself." He helped her up and led her to the door, closing it firmly behind her.

Hermione walked slowly back to her rooms. In a way, she was relieved but also felt guilty. The way, Harry had reacted… She had known that he had matured, she had known that he was big-hearted, but this… No normal young man of his age would have reacted that way, but Harry and his life had been anything but i_normal_ from the start. Whereas Ron had remained a boy, Harry had become a man, a nice man.

Hermione sat down on her couch, tears welling up again. She knew she had to move on and to get rid of Severus' _ghost_ . She'd begin with burning all the paper clippings from the newspapers and magazines, all the pictures she had collected and the book she had once bought for him. Burning these things would symbolise the new page she would have to turn in her life. One thing she knew for sure now. She'd never again enter a relationship where things were only _pleasant_ . This was not enough.

Hermione fetched the box where she kept the clippings and turned to the shelf where she had put the book. Where was it? She was sure that she had put it there; last week when she had searched for another book she'd seen it. Hermione rummaged through all her shelves; the book didn't surface. She would have to ask Cricky the next day. Perhaps she had dusted and put it somewhere else.

"Cricky, yesterday I was looking for a certain book and couldn't find it. It is an old, worn Potions book with a brown leather binding and…" Hermione frowned when she saw Cricky blush. "Cricky?"

"Please, Mistress Granger, Cricky not thinked bad and Master Snape said…"

Cricky had finally left after Hermione had insured the house-elf, who was melting into tears, that she had not done anything wrong. Hermione sat down hard on a chair. Now she knew what was this all about and in the light of this knowledge, Severus' behaviour at the dinner made sense. It had not been the overbearing attitude of a playboy but something completely different. She smiled.

Aurelius opened the door. "Miss Granger?" What was she doing here? Severus had told him what he had seen after dinner yesterday and he had seen himself how tense and cool Hermione had been towards Severus.

"Mr. Snape… Aurelius, may I come in? I have to talk to…" She paused. In her thoughts, he had been _Severus_ for a long time, but she had never addressed him as such, never spoken the name aloud to anybody. "Is he there?"

Aurelius scrutinised her. No, this was definitely no visit just to exchange some pleasant words. He would let her in. "Yes, Hermione, he is, but I have to warn you, for he's not in the best of moods. Follow me; he's in his lab."

Hermione followed Aurelius through the hallway and down a flight of stairs. She looked around. This house was wonderful. The wooden floor was shimmering, paintings hung from walls which were painted in a light green. Nothing was gloomy or dark as everybody would have expected from the austere former Potions professor.

Carefully, Aurelius opened the door to the lab and let Hermione enter. She stopped dead in her tracks and her eyes widened; Aurelius tried to suppress a smile, then left discretely.

Severus was standing beside a steaming cauldron, his wand slightly raised, his focus completely on his potion. At the tip of his wand, a little golden bubble appeared and then exploded into a cloud of colours, briefly hovering over the cauldron and then dropping down in slow motion. She had always known that he was a powerful wizard, but at this moment, she was stunned by the power and passion he radiated. i This /i was the real art of potions making.

But this was not what had made her heart beat much faster. Severus was naked to his waist, clad only in a pair of midnight blue linen slacks, his torso painted with ornaments and runes in blue and gold. His feet were bare and his legs slightly spread. She'd never seen him even without his frock coat, less alone without his shirt. Nobody would consider him ugly now.

Suddenly, he seemed to sense that someone else was in the room and that this 'someone else' was not Aurelius; his head whipped in her direction and he froze. He looked at her, did not even try to cover himself, and waited, frowning. i What did she want? Hadn't she made it very clear yesterday that she didn't want anything to do with him/i

Hermione knew what she wanted and stepped forward. "I want you to give something back to me you have… borrowed," she said, eying him intently, "that is, unless you can give me a good reason why you would keep it."

She was teasing him, Severus realised, and behaving completely differently today. Yes, he had a reason and _this_ time, he would not let her slip from his fingers. He approached her slowly, still giving her time to draw away, until he stood only inches from her. The last time they had stood this close they had been teacher and student and he had not been allowed to act according to his feelings, had to suppress every glance that would have been inappropriate. But now Severus' gaze showed everything he felt. He looked down at her face and into her beautiful brown eyes and saw… He didn't think then, but took her face tenderly between his hands and tilted his head, capturing her lips with his. He heard her moan lowly and knew she wanted this as much as he did. How could it feel so natural, so right? They'd never even touched before.

Aurelius was irritated. It had been a long time since he had thought of his former existence. Living in the same house as Severus had been pleasant. They had talked, joked and now he felt like a third wheel. Granted, he understood that Severus wanted to spend as much time with Hermione as possible. Last week, they'd celebrated their engagement and announced that they would look for a place of their own. They seemed to be happy, concluding from the sounds he heard from the bedroom now and then, very happy. Aurelius felt completely, utterly useless. As far as Severus was concerned he was. Hermione had replaced him as Severus' _conscience_ ; yes, she'd always been kind of bossy. Who would have thought that the harsh Severus Snape could be as docile as a lamb where Hermione was concerned?

It seemed that Severus had found happiness at last, and Aurelius didn't envy him, well, at least not much. For the past months, Aurelius had not been able to say what lacked in his life but now he knew – a woman like Hermione. Somehow, Severus had sensed that Aurelius had been interested in Hermione. It was logical; they were two sides of the same person. But after the disaster with the book, Aurelius had not wanted to hurt Severus and had refrained from pursuing Hermione. Unlike Severus, who had dated numerous witches after the success of _SNAPE & SNAPE Fine Potions Ltd._ , Aurelius had not been interested in meaningless relationships based on sex only.

Aurelius ran his fingers over the carved box containing the same silver powder that had brought him here. What he needed was a woman like Hermione.

When Severus and Hermione came down the stairs to join Aurelius for tea, Aurelius held out the little box towards Hermione. "Are you interested in Apparating?"


End file.
